Elon Musk and Tesla: A resource list for activists
Elon Musk’s central role in Donald Trump’s wide-ranging unprecedented attack on the lives of working-class people in the United States, as well as his threat to the world, has enraged tens of millions of people who face destitution and poverty. Musk, the world’s richest man and best-known Nazi sympathiser, whom no-one elected to public office, has shocked many. While he has been a public figure for nearly two decades, it is only recently that many people have discovered his dark and disturbing personal, corporate, and political history.
Here is an initial resource list, including articles, interviews, and videos on Musk. It is not a final list by any means. I hope it helps older and newer activists cope with the dangerous times we live in. I’ve also included a section on the Tesla Takedown campaign that has done so much to mobilise people worldwide against Musk and his global agenda.
The Musk family, Nazism and South Africa
Kate Conger, “Elon Musk Shared, Then Removed a Post Absolving Dictators for Genocide”, New York Times, March 14, 2025, available here.
Rex Huppke, “Trump talks tough on antisemitism while Musk reposts vile Hitler excuse”, USA Today, March 15, 2025, available here.
Chris McGreal & Amy Goodman, “Elon Musk’s Family History in South Africa Reveals Ties to Apartheid & Neo-Nazi Movements”, Democracy Now!, available here.
Chris McGreal, “How the roots of the ‘PayPal mafia’ extend to apartheid South Africa”, The Guardian, January 26, 2025, available here.
Rachel Savage, “The making of Elon Musk: how did his childhood in apartheid South Africa shape him?” The Guardian, March 10, 2025, available here.
Musk and the US far right
11Alive, “Elon Musk says Jan. 6 was ‘in no way a violent insurrection’”, !!Alive, available here.
Chris McGreal, “What does Elon Musk believe?”, The Guardian, February 28, 2025, available here.
Rick Perlstein interview, “How Elon Musk is taking over the MAGA movement”, Real Talk, Middle East Eye, available here.
Charlie Warzel, “Elon Musk Is a Far-Right Activist: One tweet says it all”, The Atlantic, December 11, 2022, available here.
Elon Musk and the European far right
Mason Boycott-Owen, “Elon Musk to fund UK far-right ringleader Tommy Robinson’s legal fight, supporters claim”, Politico Europe, January 21, 2025, available here.
Angela Giufrida, “Elon Musk to present Atlantic Council global citizen award to Giorgia Meloni”, The Guardian, September 23, 2024, available here.
Julianne McShane, “Elon Musk Doubles Down on His Support for Germany’s Ultra-Right Party”, Mother Jones, December 29, 2024, available here.
Julianne McShane, “Elon Musk Tells Extremist AfD Party Rally That Germans Need to ‘Move On’ from ‘Past Guilt’”, Mother Jones, January 26, 2025, available here.
Julianne McShane, “Elon Musk’s Bid to Propel Germany’s Far-Right Party to Victory Has Failed”, Mother Jones, February 23, 2025, available here.
Alex Nguyen, “Elon Musk Applauds the German Far-Right Party”, Mother Jones, December 20, 2024, available here.
Christopher F. Schuetze, “Musk Calls to Congratulate Leader of German Hard-Right Party”, New York Times, February 24, 2025, available here.
Musk and other authoritarians: Putin, Modi, Xi and Netanyahu.
Anupreeta Das, “As Musk Makes Some Headway in India, He Is Also Suing Its Government”, New York Times, March 27, 2025, available here.
Ashleigh Fields, “Netanyahu jumps to Musk’s defense over salute: ‘Falsely smeared’”, The Hill, January 23, 2025, available here.
Joshua Kaplan and Justin Elliott, “How Elon Musk’s SpaceX Secretly Allows Investment From China”, ProPublica, March 26, 2025, available here.
David Klepper and Lisa Mascaro, “Here’s a look at Musk’s contact with Putin and why it matters”, Associated Press, October 24, 2024, available here.
“How Elon Musk’s deep ties to — and admiration for — China could complicate Trump’s Beijing policy”, The Conversation, February 24, 2025, available here.
Tesla’s corporate history
Edward Niedermeyer, Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors, 2019, BenBella Books, available from all major book distributors.
Slidebean, “The REAL story of how Elon ‘stole’ Tesla”, available here.
Tesla and the environment
Kari Paul, “Eight hundred protesters attempt to storm German Tesla factory”, The Guardian, May 10, 2024, available here.
Nathan Robinson, “Exposing the Fraudulence of Elon Musk and Tesla”, Current Affairs, January 7, 2022, available here.
Max Wilbert, “Tesla is Killing the Planet—and 50k People per Year”, Max Wilbert, Youtube, available here.
Space X and X (Twitter)
Center for Countering Digital Hate, Toxic Twitter: How Twitter generates millions in ad revenue by bringing back banned accounts, available here.
More Perfect Union, We Went To The Town Elon Musk Took Hostage, available here.
Tesla and US and European trade unions
German Bender, “One year on, we know this: Sweden’s trade unions are more than a match for Elon Musk”, The Guardian, November 1, 2024, available here.
German Bender, “Tesla : the fight for collective bargaining continues”, IndustrialAll, October 22, 2024, available here.
Scott Budman, “Protesters call out Tesla for being only American car company not represented by union”, NBC Bay Area, September 2, 2024, available here.
Dominic Chopping, “Tesla Workers in Germany Demand Better Working Conditions, Union Says”, Morning Star, March 21, 2025, available here.
Steven Greenhouse, “Elon Musk says letting workers unionize creates ‘lords and peasants’. What?” The Guardian, December 20, 2023, available here.
Andrea Hsu, “Accused of violating worker rights, SpaceX and Amazon go after labor board”, National Public Radio, November 24, 2024, available here.
Working at Tesla
“Group Gathers Outside Twitter’s SF Headquarters to Protest Elon Musk”, Bay City News, February 11, 2023, available here.
Bryce Covert, “The Toxic Culture at Tesla, The factory floors at America’s top seller of electric vehicles are rife with racial harassment, sexual abuse, and injuries on the job”, The Nation, April 2024, available here.
“Protesters Outside Fremont Tesla Plant Demand Improved COVID-19 Safety For Workers”, CBS News, June 15, 2020, available here.
“California fines Tesla for heat safety violations at Fremont plant”, KTVU, February 12, 2025, available here.
Lauren MaGaughy, “Feds fine Tesla nearly $50K after worker’s death at Austin gigafactory”, The Texas Newsroom, March 6, 2025, available here.
Aimee Picchi, “Ex-Tesla worker says he lost job despite sacrifices, including sleeping in car to shorten commute”, CBS News, May 1, 2024, available here.
Dan Simon, “Tesla factory worker: Elon Musk doesn’t have workers’ best interests at heart”, CNN, May 14, 2020, available here.
Julie Carrie Wong, “Tesla factory workers reveal pain, injury and stress: ‘Everything feels like the future but us’”, The Guardian, May 18, 2017, available here.
Julie Carrie Wong, “Tesla workers were seriously hurt more than twice as often as industry average”, The Guardian, May 24, 2017, available here.
Julie Carrie Wong, “Tesla workers say they pay the price for Elon Musk’s big promises”, The Guardian, June 14, 2018, available here.
Steve Zeltzer, “Tesla, Covid-19, Elon Musk, Cal-OSHA & Gov. Gavin Newsom-Interview With Tesla Worker Carlos Gabriel”, Labor video, June 27, 2020, available here.
Steve Zeltzer, “Tesla Fremont Auto Worker Quits In Protest Of Racist & Fascist Musk & Trump”, Labor Video, available here.
Tesla Takedown campaign
Joe Allen, “Musk’s Global War on Unions: Taking on Tesla from the Showrooms to the Plants”, Counterpunch, February 28, 2025, available here.
Joe Allen & Bill V. Mullen, “Tesla: An Appeal for an International Anti-Fascist Campaign”, Counterpunch, March 7, 2025, available here.
Andy Rose, “A misinformation expert encouraged picket lines at Tesla sites to protest DOGE cuts. Then came the online threats”, CNN, March 26, 2025, available here.
Kelly Hayes, “Is March 29 the Day the World Turns on Tesla?”, Organizing My Thoughts, March 27, 2025, available here.
Hank Kennedy, “How I Organized a Tesla Takedown in Troy, Michigan”, New Politics, March 12, 2025, available here.
Steve Zeltzer, “Hundreds Protest Fascist Musk At Berkeley Tesla Dealership-Time To Fight Back”, Labor video, available here.
#TeslaTakedown Mass Mobilizing Call, March 20, 2025, YouTube, available here.
Alex Winter, “Tesla Takeover: How the Protests Against Elon Musk Signal a National Turning Point”, Rolling Stone magazine, February 21, 2025, available here.
Joe Allen is a former Teamster. He has written for Counterpunch, Rebel, Tempest, Jacobin, Socialist Worker, and the International Socialist Review.
