Activists in Pasadena Protest Musk’s ‘Undue Influence’

Members of Northeast Los Angeles Indivisible (NELA Indivisible) gathered outside the Tesla dealership on Colorado Boulevard as well as on a bridge in Old Pasadena Saturday afternoon to protest what they said is an undue influence on government by the company’s CEO, Elon Musk.

The demonstration, which organizers described as a “trial run,” was part of the group’s broader efforts to mobilize civic engagement. NELA Indivisible, a local chapter of the national Indivisible movement founded in 2016, recently reactivated itself in response to ongoing political concerns.

“We just wanted trial run at this Tesla dealership so that people know that we are against his agenda and his basically taking over our federal government,” said Maddie Gavel-Briggs, one of the organizers.

The protest attracted about 20 participants. Passersby lent support spontaneously and drivers honked.

“Probably 70, 80% positive,” said Gavel-Briggs about feedback, while her husband, Patrick, estimated support as high as 95%.

“One of the nice things about this rally is that we had several of our members engage with the public. People who agreed with us and a few who disagreed,” he said. “It was a good experience to humanize and normalize this kind of civic engagement.”

Organizers said the protest was planned in just a few days to coincide with other demonstrations in the region, including a SpaceX protest in Hawthorne and another Tesla dealership protest in Alhambra. Despite the short notice, the event helped energize local activists.

“We had four new people today who have never carried a sign in protest of anything before,” McAdoo said.

NELA Indivisible plans to hold a larger, more publicized action at the Pasadena Tesla dealership next month.

“We wanted to get Pasadena on the map and let people know that this is happening,” Gavel-Briggs added. “This is not happening in a vacuum, and it’s really going to take people that never anticipated protesting to be out here.”