This is one of the most extreme anti-Tesla protests we’ve seen in recent months
May 9, 2025 at 10:30
- WW2 veteran drives Sherman tank over Model 3 to protest Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s politics.
- The 98-year-old man claims Musk is promoting fascism through far-right support in Europe.
- Protest highlights growing tension between Musk’s political views and public sentiment.
Is Elon Musk starting to feel the weight of making his political views so public, from openly backing President Trump to amplifying a far-right party in Germany? If he is, he’s not showing it, but it’s hard to imagine he’s thrilled about the growing backlash from the public, especially as it begins to chip away at Tesla, the company at the core of his fortune.
Tesla’s sales have taken a sharp dive in key global markets this year, just as criticism and protests against the automaker have picked up speed. One particularly pointed response comes from a 98-year-old World War II veteran in the UK, who accuses Musk of encouraging fascist ideas, and decided to make his opinion known in a very public, very literal way.
Read: Masked Man Allegedly Caught With Tesla Map After Torching Cybertruck
In a recently uploaded YouTube clip, the veteran, Ken, says he remembers fascism the first time around and believes it’s making a return. “Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, is using his immense power to support the far-right in Europe, and his money comes from Tesla cars,” he says.
To send a message, Ken drives a Sherman tank, which also happened to be used in WW2, to crush a blue Tesla Model 3. The video looks to have been filmed in a British field, and the Model 3 has been fitted with a rear license plate that reads ‘Fascism.’ In just a matter of seconds, the historic tank cruises onto the hood of the Tesla, before crawling its way over the roof and the EV’s rear end.
Even if you’re not a fan of the Model 3, it’s objectively one of the safest production cars out there. Still, no amount of crash testing can prepare it for a Sherman tank. The demonstration is dramatic, symbolic, and unmistakably intentional. As Ken puts it, “We’ve crushed fascism before and we’ll crush it again.”