FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WKRN) — Nearly 100 protesters gathered outside the Tesla showroom in Franklin Saturday to rally against Elon Musk and his role in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). However, their actions were met with criticism from counter-protesters.
The protest also happened to be across the street from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building closed by DOGE, according to its “Wall of Receipts.“
Lynn Chain, a spokesperson with Indivisible Tennessee, helped organize the protest on Saturday, March 22 and said the group is worried about cuts made to Social Security and other federal programs.
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“There are people here that don’t eat without the benefits that they put into, paid into their whole lives, so that’s a real problem, and the billionaires don’t have any way to relate to people who have worked their whole lives just to keep the lights on,” Chain told News 2.
Counter-protesters also made their voices heard, driving by in Cybertrucks, praising Musk and President Donald Trump’s agenda, and chastising protesters for wanting an American company to fail.
“The vast majority of [Tesla’s] shares are owned by people’s retirement funds. If any of these people have retirement funds, 401(k)s, etc., they’re wanting their 401(k)s to tank,” Eric Loes told News 2.
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Romonte Hamer, a Williamson County resident, also criticized protesters, saying, “In the private sector, companies go through downsizing, people go through furloughs, people go through layoffs. Welcome to the real world, federal government.”
However, protesters said they worry the federal downsizing could have damaging effects. Saturday’s protest in Franklin was one of many held across the nation recently to express disapproval for Musk’s push to slash government spending and reduce the federal workforce.
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