Seattle activist organizing ‘Tesla Takedowns’ vows to continue protests against Elon Musk amid domestic terror attacks on company

Valerie Costa, 43, a lead organizer for the "Tesla Takedown" movement, referred to the demonstrations as "good trouble" and said in a recent interview with the Seattle Times, that while she fears the FBI will arrive on her doorstep, she can't let those worries stop her from achieving her final mission: destroy the American auto company.

Costa co-founded the group "Troublemakers" in 2023, which was created to protest against fossil fuel companies before it shifted focus to Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The group has since joined forces with "Tesla Takedown," a coalition of several progressive activist groups, some of which are allegedly being funded by ActBlue, whose investors include George Soros and Reid Hoffman. Costa is the lead organizer for "Tesla Takedown" in the Seattle area, which has seen several domestic terror-related incidents involving Tesla vehicles and centers in recent weeks.

In a March 9 interview posted on X, Costa suggested the movement channels the spirit of Luigi Mangione, the suspect accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December. She called for demonstrations targeting Tesla to continue. Costa's comments captured the attention of Elon Musk, who suggested she was engaging in criminal behavior. This resulted in Costa scrubbing her personal information from the internet and pulling fundraising information off her nonprofit website, she told the Times.

"I think we're at a pretty dangerous crossroads where our rights, our civil liberties are being challenged by this administration," she told the paper about the Trump administration. "It became clear that Musk was taking his chainsaw to government and (we saw) the very immediate impact to people in our community. This is mostly about the people collectively having a voice when our government, and in particular Elon Musk, is so unaccountable to the people."

Costa believes the Justice Department is attempting to silence protesters into submission.

"If we cannot speak out against our government, against corporations, and if we're criminalized and penalized for speaking out, then we are living in an authoritarian state and regime, and this is not a free country," said Costa. "This is not a democracy if we can't do that."

The Department of Justice has pledged to prosecute individuals to the fullest extent of the law if they unlawfully target Tesla property. Attorney General Pam Bondi declared that the Department of Justice would be investigating such offenses as domestic terrorism incidents. In recent weeks, Tesla properties and cars across the nation have been subjected to firebombing and shooting attacks. A number of individuals have been apprehended and could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Additional suspects are still at large. Also, Bondi vowed to pursue individuals and/or organizations that may be financing the violent attacks.

The Troublemakers has seen roughly 300 new members since Musk reported on the group online, according to Costa, who explained that protests will continue. She said there were at least six "Tesla Takedown" protests scheduled on March 22 in the Seattle area and more than 130 planned in the coming weeks.

Since these protests began, Tesla vehicles and store locations in the Seattle area have been the target of several domestic terror-related incidents. On March 19, a masked male suspect hunted down a woman driving a Tesla in Lynnwood, Washington. He stopped in the middle of the road, exited the vehicle, and ordered the victim to sell her "Nazi" car. On March 9, a suspect vandalized several Tesla vehicles with Nazi symbols at a service station, which also occurred in Lynnwood. The suspect(s) in these two incidents remain at large.

On March 13, a Tesla vehicle parked in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood, the former Antifa-BLM CHAZ zone, was set on fire. A gas can was recovered at the scene, but authorities have not yet made an arrest in this case. On March 10, several Tesla vehicles were torched in Seattle's SODO district, and once again, a subject has not been taken into custody.