Bay Area protesters take aim at Musk, Trump

SAN FRANCISCO - Billionaire Elon Musk has drawn the ire of thousands of activists around the Bay Area and across the country who are protesting his government involvement. They also pointed fingers at President Donald Trump, who has pushed to gut federal health, education, and human services agencies.

Is Elon Musk overstepping?

What they're saying:

A protest was held outside a Tesla showroom in San Francisco and others held in San Jose and Oakland, with organizers wanting to send a clear message that Musk is overstepping his authority. Similar protests were held outside congressional offices on Monday and over the weekend in Seattle, San Diego and New York.

Demonstrations by the 50501 movement dubbed the "No Kings on Presidents Day" and "We Reject Project 2025" were aimed at both Musk and Trump.

Over 1,000 people took part in the group's San Jose rally, holding up anti-Trump signs and calling his recent policies illegal. The rally was peaceful, but vocal. 

"We knew Trump was bad, but we didn't know Elon was going to be the President. I think we're kind of pissed off about that, and things are going in the absolute wrong direction," said one protester.

Organizer James Kuszmaul said, "It's more than just President Trump and Elon Musk ignoring the will of the people. It's also them ignoring the fundamental basis of the American way."

A loose coalition of Democrats and progressives is coalescing around Musk’s rise as Trump’s top lieutenant and his purge of the federal bureaucracy. Musk is the leader of Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency, an outside-government organization designed to slash federal spending.

"He’s a major weak link in the MAGA coalition," Ezra Levin, co-founder of the progressive group Indivisible, said of Musk. "I can’t think of something that polls worse than the richest man in the world is coming after your Social Security check or your Meals on Wheels or your Head Start."

"The disappointment I had in the election. How my family feels about the new presidency and the government; and the people that are part of the government but weren't elected to the government," said Sal Ventura, who attended the 50501's San Jose rally.

‘Political takeover’

What they're saying:

Indivisible, which claims more than 1,300 local chapters nationwide, is encouraging members to protest at the offices of their members of Congress, regardless of political party. The group also offered a step-by-step guide for protesting at Tesla dealerships, Musk’s electric vehicle company.

The memo encourages protesters to stay on sidewalks and public spaces and to avoid any actions that might directly interfere with business operations, such as blocking entrances or trespassing on private property.

It also calls for Tesla protesters to stay on message: "This is about Musk’s political takeover, not Tesla, SpaceX, or X as companies."

Federal workforce cuts

What we know:

The wave of protests comes at a critical moment as fractured Democrats struggle to stop the Republican president’s purge of the federal bureaucracy, which features thousands of layoffs inside departments focused on public health, education, veterans affairs, and human services, among others.

Firings in recent days at the Department of Veterans Affairs include researchers working on cancer treatment, opioid addiction, prosthetics and burn pit exposure, according to U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington state. The cuts also include more than 5,000 employees at the Department of Health and Human Services and roughly one-tenth of the workforce at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In some cases, Musk’s team is trying — with Trump’s blessing but without congressional approval — to shutter entire agencies, including the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Department of Education and the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Trump has defended the cuts as necessary to eliminate waste and fraud. And he has praised Musk’s work with his Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, saying it has found "shocking" evidence of wasteful spending. He signed an executive order expanding Musk’s influence.

Musk, meanwhile, has defended the swift and extensive cuts he’s pushing across the federal government while acknowledging there have been mistakes.