WCC students join Tesla protest against Musk’s federal funding cuts

Ann Arbor engineer Peter Haderlein (center) protests Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s role in funding cuts that Haderlein says cost him his job at a clean energy company. “I think this is just the beginning,” Haderlein said. “What happened to me is going to happen to a lot of other people in this country.” Patrick Sullivan | The Washtenaw Voice

Patrick Sullivan | Contributor 

WCC students joined hundreds of other protesters for a March 14 rally outside an Ann Arbor-area Tesla car dealership. Demonstrators held signs expressing concerns about Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s role in the Trump administration’s layoffs of workers at federal agencies like the Department of Education and the Environmental Protection Agency.  

Dozens of passing cars honked in support of the protest, while other drivers yelled insults and pro-Trump comments at the demonstrators as they marched in front of the Tesla showroom on Jackson Road. 

“I’m disturbed by what Trump and Elon Musk are doing in Washington,” said Ada Verloren, a WCC photography student who joined the protest. “I want to ask them to preserve our government, our democracy and our environmental standards.” 

Musk oversees the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its campaign to cut federal services. The DOGE-led effort has resulted in tens of thousands of job losses being announced by the Federal Aviation Administration, the Veterans Administration and other government agencies, according to the Associated Press.

The Ann Arbor protest was organized by Indivisible, a national grassroots organization, and protest organizer Gus Teschke said that there’s no doubt that the electric car company’s reputation has taken a hit because of the controversy surrounding its CEO. 

“I think Musk has affected Tesla’s image,” said Teschke, an Ann Arbor resident. “The man is engaged in unconstitutional behavior, and people don’t like that.”

Victoria Malcolm, a graduate student at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, stood outside the Tesla showroom holding a sign reading, “Fire Elon Musk.” 

“I’m really concerned about the direction the government is going in and the money they’re cutting from essential services,” Malcolm said. “I’m worried about what the future will look like if we continue in this direction. When I finish school, what will the job market look like?”

Musk was called out by name on many signs at the protest, and many protesters expressed concern about the billionaire having so much power in the Trump administration despite not having been elected or approved by the Senate confirmation process.

“I think it’s emblematic of where the administration wants to take things,” Malcolm said. “They’re giving power to an unelected billionaire who is blatantly making policies that will benefit the uber-rich, like him.” 

Some protesters decried the international effects of funding cuts. Federal layoffs have shut down most work at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), ending programs that had helped malnourished people, HIV-positive children and others in countries like South Sudan, Somalia and Bangladesh, the Associated Press reports. 

President Donald Trump, however, has defended Musk, saying that the Tesla CEO’s federal work is helping the nation. Trump has said that Musk, the world’s richest man, “shouldn’t be scarified or have to suffer because he wants to help the government,” according to the Associated Press.

The March 14 protest was deeply personal for Peter Haderlein, who held a sign reading, “I lost my job to Elon’s coup.” Haderlein, an engineer in Ann Arbor, said a Trump administration freeze on congressionally approved funding for clean energy resulted in his layoff from his job at a clean tech company. 

“I think this is just the beginning,” Haderlein said. “What happened to me is going to happen to a lot of other people in this country.”

More than 400 people attended the March 14 protest, according to an estimate by Teschke, the organizer. But for some WCC students at the event, the crowd size was less important than the chance to speak out about the impact of federal cuts on education and environmental protection. 

“The turnout seems impressive, though there could always be more people,” said Verloren. “It’s just good to be out here with people who are disturbed by what they see going on in this country.” 

Protesters outside Tesla’s Ann Arbor-area showroom say they’re defending democracy and the rule of law against the company’s CEO, who is playing an increasingly controversial role in the Trump administration. Patrick Sullivan | The Washtenaw Voice

Protesters decry Elon Musk’s role in the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which has overseen layoffs at the Federal Aviation Administration and other agencies. Patrick Sullivan | The Washtenaw Voice

Some protesters call for a boycott of Tesla to protest Elon Musk’s cuts. Patrick Sullivan | The Washtenaw Voice

Victoria Malcolm, a graduate student at Eastern Michigan University, protests Elon Musk, who is overseeing layoffs of workers at the Department of Education and other federal agencies. “I’m really concerned about the direction the government is going in and the money they’re cutting from essential services,” Malcolm says. Patrick Sullivan | The Washtenaw Voice

Many protesters say that Musk’s cuts put the country at risk. Patrick Sullivan | The Washtenaw Voice

Marchers wave to passing cars on Jackson Road. Patrick Sullivan | The Washtenaw Voice

A large banner at the protest quotes civil rights leader John Lewis, who urged activists to make “good trouble.” Patrick Sullivan | The Washtenaw Voice

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