Who’s Funding the ‘Burn a Tesla, Save Democracy’ Protests?

Americans took to the streets Saturday for the latest round of protests targeting Tesla and condemning Elon Musk for his work with President Donald Trump, but these protests trace back to a larger movement with funding from the Left’s dark money network.

Some of the organizations that encouraged and helped organize the protests have raked in millions from arms of Soros’ Open Society Foundations and from other nonprofits that act as middlemen between the Left’s major donors and the its operations on the ground. (Open Society claims that it does not fund or direct protests, though public records show that it has funded at least one of the groups helping to organize them.)

In the “Tesla Takedown-Day of Action” Saturday, protesters targeted more than 275 Tesla dealerships in the U.S. and over 500 worldwide, Fox News Digital reported. Protesters held up a sign reading, “Burn a Tesla: Save Democracy” at a protest in New York City.

Former Wall Street Journal reporter and propaganda expert Asra Nomani teamed up with The Fairfax County Times to create a chronology of the protest actions, building a public database of anti-Tesla protests published on ActionAlert.com and Mobilize.us. According to Nomani, the Seattle-based protest organization Troublemakers and the Philadelphia-based group Disruption Project have sponsored about 70%, or 220, of the protests. Local chapters of Indivisible Project, a Washington-based nonprofit, have organized about 29%, or 87, of them, according to Nomani.

Indivisible Project told The Daily Signal that it did not organize the Saturday protests, but several of its local chapters participated in them. Indivisible Project may not have directly organized the protests, but it did publish a guide for organizing protests against Elon Musk.

“Indivisible is not focused on Tesla as a business,” Sarah Dohl, Indivisible’s chief communications officer, told The Daily Signal in a statement Tuesday. “This is not about cars, dealerships, or private enterprise. What we are focused on is educating communities and drawing urgent attention to the fact that Elon Musk—an unelected billionaire—is now operating as a de facto government official, wielding power over federal agencies and public resources that families depend on without a single vote cast in his name.”

“Indivisible unequivocally condemns violence and property destruction,” she added.

Meanwhile, the Justice Department has brought charges against at least four defendants for lighting Teslas, a Tesla dealership, and Tesla charging stations on fire using Molotov cocktails. The attacks took place in Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, and South Carolina. Last week, the FBI opened a special task force examining the rash of attacks.

“The swarm of violent attacks on Tesla property is nothing short of domestic terrorism,” Attorney General Pam Bondi declared in March. “The Department of Justice has already charged several perpetrators with that in mind, including in cases that involve charges with five-year mandatory minimum sentences. We will continue investigations that impose severe consequences on those involved in these attacks, including those operating behind the scenes to coordinate and fund these crimes.”

Musk called for arresting people for funding the attacks, though he did not establish any direct tie between the protests and the attacks.

“It is time to arrest those funding the attacks,” he posted on X Sunday. “Arresting their puppets and paid foot-soldiers won’t stop the violence.”

Indivisible Weighs In

Dohl, the Indivisible spokeswoman, drew a clear distinction between the peaceful protests and the arson attacks.

“These were regular people holding posterboard signs on sidewalks, exercising their First Amendment rights to free speech and protest,” she said. “Any attempt to conflate these community events with the ‘violent attacks’ you reference is both dishonest and reckless.”

“Tesla Town Halls are just one small tactic in a larger recess guide we distributed to our members—alongside advice for attending congressional town halls, organizing ’empty chair’ events, and pushing for accountability from elected officials,” she added. “That’s what democracy looks like.”

“We do not pay protesters,” Dohl told The Daily Signal. Her organization does reimburse Indivisible groups for “food, flyers, or a stack of poster board,” however.

“If your story is really about communities peacefully organizing to stop a billionaire from rigging our government for himself and his donors—yes, Indivisible is proud to be part of that,” she said.

“Small-dollar donors are the backbone of Indivisible’s budget, and we’re proud to be accountable to a nationwide grassroots base, not a single donor or interest,” Dohl added.

Yet she acknowledged funding from two massive left-wing foundations.

Both Indivisible Project and the Disruption Project have received funding from the Left’s dark money network—the system of foundations I expose in my book, “The Woketopus: The Dark Money Cabal Manipulating the Federal Government.” My book reveals which far-left nonprofits infiltrated and advised the Biden administration, using the administrative state to force woke ideology on the American people.

So, who funds these groups?

Open Society Funding

Indivisible Project has received at least $8 million from organizations under the umbrella of Open Society Foundations, the funding network established by Hungarian American billionaire George Soros and now run by his son, Alex.

According to IRS records, the Open Society Policy Center gave Indivisible $875,000 in the year ending in December 2021; $1.135 million in the following year; and $3 million in the year after that. In 2023, Open Society Action Fund awarded Indivisible with a $3 million grant over a two-year period. (The years of IRS records may or may not align with calendar years.)

Open Society insisted that it does not fund protesters or direct protests.

“The Open Society Foundations do not fund protesters or direct protests,” the foundation told The Daily Signal. “We condemn all acts of violence and any unlawful behavior.”

“Our work is dedicated to promoting human rights guaranteed by the Constitution, protecting fundamental freedoms, and strengthening American democracy,” the foundation added.

The foundation also pointed to a statement from May 2024 stating that while some grant recipients “seek to articulate and amplify dissenting voices” through “petitions, meetings, and peaceful public protests,” most recipients of Open Society money “have no involvement with protests of any kind.”

Dohl, the Indivisible spokeswoman, noted that Open Society funding “does not determine or direct our work.”

She also called Open Society “a legitimate, globally respected foundation that has supported democratic movements, human rights, and civil society for decades.”

The Tides Foundation

The Tides Foundation and its sister nonprofit, Tides Advocacy, have funneled more than $3 million to Indivisible.

The Tides Foundation gave Indivisible: $1.27 million in the year ending December 2018; $50,000 the following year; $230,000 in the year after that; $147,000 in the year ending December 2022; and $100,000 in the following year. The total adds up to more than $1.8 million.

Tides Advocacy gave Indivisible $2.24 million in the year ending December 2018 and another $150,000 in the year ending December 2020.

Tides Advocacy gave $20,000 to the Disruption Project in the years ending in December of 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023, for a total of $80,000.

The Movement Voter Project

The Movement Voter Project, which directs leftist donors’ funds to activist groups, sent the Disruption Project $5,000 in the year ending in December 2020 and another $8,400 two years later.

The Daily Signal also reached out to The Tides Foundation, Tides Advocacy, The Movement Voter Project, Troublemakers, and the Disruption Project for comment, but did not receive a response by press time.

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