Kissimmee’s Tesla dealership on Orange Blossom Trail Saturday was the site of protests against the actions of President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, who owns Tesla and who has been a close ally to the new administration.
Dubbed #TeslaTakedown, the protest was organized by local group Innominate. Among the attendees were members of several Democratic Partyleaning organizations in the area, along with sympathetic individuals.
Following other such recent protests around the area and country, it was aimed at speaking out against Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts to programs like Social Security, Medicare, Veterans’ Affairs, education and parks. Musk has said DOGE is trying to eliminate government over-spending and waste.
Darby Bronson with Innominate was blunt in saying his goal was for Tesla to get rid of Musk: “All they have to do is get rid of him, and we’ll stop.
We’ll be out here every weekend until he steps down.”
Protesters came bearing signs with colorful slogans: “Bad DOGE,” “Fire DOGE,” “He’s Stealing Your Future.” Activist Dan Williams said the goal was to stage protests in areas where they were likely to interact with people who had voted for Trump.
“This is our first step into Osceola County,” he said. “We only go to red districts—we don’t go to blue ones, that’s just preaching to the choir. If I get a lot of honks, I’m in the wrong spot.”
As he spoke, some passing cars honked in support, while others reacted angrily— one driver flipped a middle finger at them, others screamed profanities. Williams and Bronson said it just came with the territory.
“If one third of voters are independent, we need to stop them from sitting on the fence,” Williams said. “We want them to see what [Trump and Musk] are doing is not for them, it’s for the billionaires.”
Another local organizer, Jen Cousins, said the point of the protests was to bring the realities of Musk and Trump’s actions to peoples’ attention who might not be paying attention.
“We want to spread the word that this is what he’s doing to your life,” she said. “We’re not OK with it. We didn’t elect him. We’ve been watching Tesla stocks drop for two months, we’re seeing people getting mad about what Elon Musk is doing. There’s no stone unturned about what they’re doing— they’re going after education, Social Security, Medicare. They’re trying to take away every support system we have been guaranteed to us as Americans.”
Other protesters had myriad reasons for being there. Mostly, they said, because they were afraid of how the DOGE cuts would affect them and their loved ones.
“There’s so many [reasons we’re out here],” said Osceola County resident Kim Hayes, in attendance with her wife. “My wife’s parents are on Social Security. I have a brother who’s a veteran. He’s a war hero. [My wife and I] have a trans son— we want everyone to be equal. This is not what the country is supposed to be. We have a grandson. We want him to grow up in the country we grew up in.”
As they marched, waving signs, others watched on from the sidelines, some disagreeing with the protesters. Polk County resident Teddy Koukoulis believed DOGE’s claims that it was rooting out over-spending and bloat in government, and didn’t agree with the protesters.
“Why don’t these people want all this money wasted exposed? You wouldn’t run a house like that. How many billions are there that we don’t even know about?”
Osceola County resident Sean Rogers said he supported Trump despite not agreeing with some of his recent actions. He was curious to see the protest after hearing it was going to be near his house.
“I’ve never been to a protest,” he said. “All of them were always far away.”
Rogers said he hadn’t liked stories he’d read about protesters vandalizing Tesla cars and other dealerships, and was glad to see this one was peaceful.
U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, (R-Naples), arrived flanked by half a dozen men with phone cameras filming, as he engaged in heated exchanges with several protesters about various hotbutton political issues including the economy and transgender rights. Donalds acknowledged he is running for governor in 2026. Asked why he had come, Donalds maintained he was just there to see how things were going all around the state.
“Whenever we have an opportunity, we want to see what the protest is about,” he said. “I think it is more about opinion as opposed to the facts. I think we have a responsibility to get details to what’s occurring, and not just rely on social media.”
Another local, Jason Henderson, said he was just there to buy a Tesla, but he liked seeing the diversity of opinion from his fellow Americans.
“I think it’s awesome,” he said. “Everyone has the right to voice their opinion. It’s your personal freedom to do that.”
