Rain didn’t diminish the determination of demonstrators — including two local Tesla owners — protesting Elon Musk at the Tesla dealership in Innisfil on Saturday.
South Simcoe police were on hand and told organizers they were there to ensure the situation remained peaceful.
About a dozen people participated in the protest.
Natasha Weese organized the event, and she said it was about Musk — not the company.
“If (Musk) owned another company, I would be protesting there,” she said.
Weese said she is concerned for the environment and would consider an electric vehicle in the future.
Her beef is with the attitude of the person who she sees as wielding unprecedented power, especially for an unelected person, and who has echoed United States President Donald Trump’s words on Canada.
“On Feb. 25 of this year, Musk wrote that Canada is not a country. Elon Musk decided to play a game. He jumped into the political arena,” Weese said.
She has been involved in protests before at Queen’s Park and other places but has never led one.
“It’s one thing for Canadians to jibber-jabber about it (words from Trump and Musk), and protest isn’t baked into our DNA, but people are naive thinking what they say now might not affect our country down the road,” she said.
Weese sees herself as a single voice, but she reminds people about what can be done by starting out small.
“Suffragettes, civil rights marches, Indigenous protests — all have shared in bringing fairness and change to the system,” she said.
Brad Fisher and Zoe Hilton came from Midland in their Tesla to share their belief recent words from Musk are troubling; they think he should resign from the company.
“We love our car and its capabilities. Not too many electrics can do towing. We bought it in the summer of 2024 and have been all around Ontario and Quebec with it. We are not getting rid of it, but not happy with where (Musk) is going,” Fisher said.
After the protest, Weese said she was pleased with the turnout.
“I really thought no one was going to care, so I’m over the moon. I really did think it was only going to be me,” she said.
“What I loved about the attendees was that everyone felt something different. I was really worried when the first people there jumped out of a Tesla. Were they counter-protestors? And they were just as mad at Musk as I am.”
In talking with those who attended, everyone was enthusiastic about keeping it going, Weese noted.
“I’m starting a WhatsApp group with those who attended today (to) see if we can keep it going. People are still contacting me who’ve just found out and would love to be a part of it,” she said.
“Everybody wants to keep this feeling going, and I know we have the momentum.”