Campaigners are set to celebrate Tesla’s nosediving car sales – by hijacking its own events

The 17 May is set to be a big day for Tesla, with the company advertising ‘Discover Tesla’ days for multiple locations to boost the troubled its flagging UK sales. So Tesla Takedown UK, the anti-Tesla group, are hosting ‘Discover Tesla Takedown’ days at dealerships in Bristol, Glasgow, Winchester, and London Park Royal.

Tesla Takedown: celebrating the sales woes of Elon Musk

These fun, lively pickets will have a different character in each city.

Winchester will be welcoming dogs and giving out free badges. London will have a Tesla de-badging station, a make-your-own-sign stand, a bubble machine, and more. Bristol will have a chill vibe with lawn chairs, music, balloons and treats.

Meanwhile, Glasgow will offer henna tattoos, face painting, ice cream. There will also be rides in a genuine eco-vehicle – Obama the Pony’s cart – which normally brings disabled children to experience parts of the world that wheelchairs can’t reach without assistance.

Obama’s owner Simon Mulholland said:

I dislike Elon Musk for buying the election of Trump after Trump’s disgusting mockery of a disabled journalist. And, as a vehicle designer, I feel Musk missed two really easy open goals.

Protests will start at 11am on 17 May at the following locations:

• Bristol Tesla Showroom, 5 Centaurus Road, Patchway, Bristol, BS34 5TS
• Glasgow Tesla Showroom, 20 Kennedy Street, Glasgow, G4 0EB
• London Tesla Park Royal Showroom, 152 Duke’s Road, London W3 0SL
• Winchester Tesla Showroom, Easton Lane, Winchester, SO23 7RR

Toxic Musk tanks thanks to public protest

Showing that protests work, Tesla has removed mention of all Discover Tesla days from its website listings. Notably however, it’s still accepting RSVPs for some. Overall though, it has been delisting all planned London events.

Tesla sales nosedived 62% year-on-year in April, with just 512 vehicles sold. This is the company’s lowest figure in more than two years, even though electric vehicle (EV) sales rose by 8.1%. But the battle is far from over. While Tesla’s market share has tumbled by a quarter from 12.5% a year ago, the brand still holds 9.3% of the UK EV market.

Tesla Takedown organiser Theodora Sutcliffe, who has picketed Tesla showrooms, a Tesla pop-up shop and the Everything Electric show, said:

You don’t need a huge number of people to disrupt Tesla’s ability to sell cars. Tesla is a brand that’s historically relied on people feeling good about their choices. Pickets highlight how toxic those choices have become under Elon Musk.

Featured image supplied