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More than 10,000 protesters gathered in New York City on Presidents ’ twenty-four hours to speak out against the current Trump governance and the activity in special of Elon Musk ’s Department of Government Efficiency ( DOGE ) .
It was one ofseveral proteststhat took stead Monday in major cities across the country and came during the same long weekend that smaller protestssprouted up at Tesla dealershipsacross the land .
protester who spoke to TechCrunch from Washington Square Park call forth concerns about DOGE ’s memory access to tender data of millions of Americans and the group ’s dismantling of federal authority . They enjoin that they view Musk ’s work with DOGE as a veiled attempt at a financial power grab , and expressed frustration that Musk , an unelected official , has gained unprecedented level of power over the federal governing .
“ I think it ’s extremely dangerous that [ Musk ] has entree to our personal data , ” Dmitri , 53 , an designer who asked that his last name not be used , tell TechCrunch . “ He ’s kind of a fantast fanboy who ’s basically experience in a sci - fi fantasy and trying to implement that , and has the resource to do mass amounts of damage . He ’s tinkering with something that he does n’t have the power to actually understand . ”
A 55 - year - onetime retired teacher who identify himself only as Tom and who held a augury that read : “ No one voted for Musk , ” told TechCrunch , “ As much as I dislike the fact that a pregnant number of Americans vote for Trump , it is absolutely the case that no one vote for Musk . ”
Tom noted that he did n’t believe the average MAGA supporter vote for Musk and worried that DOGE ’s cuts would ache Americans on a DoS , local , and case-by-case level .
“ The integration of top executive under billionaires is a frightening thing , ” he suppose .
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Trump sign an executive order on his first Clarence Shepard Day Jr. in office to produce DOGE , giving Musk , the billionaire proprietor of SpaceX , Tesla , X , and other companies , the reins to rout out government impostor , waste , and abuse of taxpayer dollars .
Since then , DOGE has firednearly 10,000 Union workerswho handled everything from negociate Union lands to manage for military veterans . Another75,000 workershave accepted the Trump administration ’s buyout proposal , which in late January offer federal actor eight months ’ pay and benefits to leave their posts if they resigned in early February . DOGE has alsocut 104 government contractsrelated to diversity , equity , inclusion , and availability programs and dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development .
Trump also granted Musk ’s DOGE teamaccess to the Treasury department ’s digital paymentssystem , which controls 1000000000000 of dollars in payment to Americans , from Social Security benefits to tax repayment , despite questions about their surety clearance , their cybersecurity practices , and the legality of Musk ’s activity .
Supporters of Trump and Musk applaud their on - newspaper efforts to root out corruptness , inefficiency , and scarlet taping . Opponents object to the way DOGE is going about its submit goal , and warn that the squad ’s actions will precede to more corruption andnational security peril .
A wafture oflegal challengeshas followed that allege a want of transparency anddata privacy violations .
The protesters in New York begin at Union Square and marched to Washington Square Park , congregating under the iconic memorial archway dedicated to George Washington , the land ’s first president . They chant “ Hey , hey , ho , ho , Elon Musk has got to go , ” and hold signs that vaunt a reach of cause , but Musk and DOGE were a rough-cut theme throughout .
The New York Police Department reckon the turn of attendees to be more than 10,000 .
“ This is not about us disagreeing with Republican insurance , ” said Victoria , bundled up against the cold winds trounce through the metropolis , where though sunny , temperatures hovered around 32 degree Fahrenheit . “ It ’s the fact that Trump has turn over over the tycoon of the purse to Elon Musk , who is unelected . ”
As people played music and cry chants , their homemade signs raised over their head , a 39 - year - honest-to-god small line of work owner who identify himself as Corwin said of Musk , “ he ’s so conflicted and it ’s so unmortgaged that his antiregulatory attitudes do good him personally and financially . ”
Musk has targeted several agencies for simplification or dismantle that modulate industry in which his companies operate . before this calendar month , Musk said he wants to pass the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau , which would regularise X ’s planned enlargement to financial services , posting on his social connection X “ CFPB RIP , ” punctuated with a tombstone emoji . He has stated an intention to go after the Federal Aviation Administration , an agency he ’s clash with before and one that regulates SpaceX. He has also called forending a rulethat requires automakers to report crashes when autonomous drive technology is engaged .
Musk ’s actions at the federal level have affected Tesla ’s brand image . During the automaker ’s 2024 fourth - quarter earnings , psychoanalyst Thomas Monteiro of Investing.com take note that the hoopla around Tesla is trending downwardly due to , among other thing , “ severe brand devaluation . ”
Stories are pasture up ofpeople selling their Teslasout of a desire to no longer support Musk ’s businesses . Some Cybertruck owners have reported case of vandalism andharassment . The automaker ’s gross revenue , which were already beginning to suffer due to increase rivalry in the grocery store and a stale batting order , have begin to plump in Europe after a gesture by Musk , at the Chief Executive ’s startup , was interpreted by many as aNazi salute . Poland ’s sport and touristry minister Slawomir Nitraslobbied for a Tesla boycott , and in Germany , several companieshavecut tieswith Tesla in reaction to Musk ’s funding both for Trump and the far - right political political party Alternative for Germany ( AfD ) .
