Washington correspondent
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, criticized Democrats for encouraging protests and boycotts of electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla over CEO Elon Musk’s high-profile role in President Donald Trump’s administration.
On his Friday podcast, Cruz took issue with Democrats wanting to hurt an American business. He highlighted Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz welcoming a drop in Tesla stock.
Cruz pointed to U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, participating in a “Tesla Takedown” session that encouraged people to protest the automaker. Cruz played a clip from the Daily Show during which audience members cheered news footage of Teslas that had been shot up or set ablaze.
“Every one of these people knows they’re not just talking about declining to purchase this product,” Cruz said. “They are cheering on Molotov cocktails, violent firebombing and firing guns. And I’ll tell you, somebody is going to be killed.”
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In his first two months back in the White House, Trump has been pressing forward with an aggressive agenda that includes the work of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency that supporters say is rooting out waste, fraud and abuse in federal agencies.
Critics have taken issue with Musk and his team’s access to sensitive information, the cuts they’ve pushed across various agencies and his potential conflicts of interest.
Democrats have been trying to find their footing since Republicans won the presidency, along with majorities in the House and Senate. Left-leaning activities have focused on Musk’s business interests as a key pressure point.
Crockett joined a “Tesla Takedown” call in which organizers promoted March 29 as a day of Tesla protests. That happens to be Crockett’s birthday.
“All I want to see happen on my birthday is for Elon to be taken down,” Crockett said. “I have learned, as I serve on the DOGE oversight committee, that there is only one language that the people that are in charge understand right now, and that language is money.”
She criticized Musk’s activities and comments he has made about Social Security.
She welcomed people standing up against Musk, fighting for democracy and freedom, quickly adding the word “fighting” was intended figuratively.
“Obviously everything that I am promoting is non violent,” she said.
The administration is ignoring the American people, she said, and protesting Austin-based Tesla is a way to get their attention.
“If our government refuses to listen, there’s another way to really make them think hard about listening to you and it comes in the form of your protest,” Crockett said. “I’m going to keep screaming in the halls of Congress. I just need y’all to make sure that y’all keep screaming in the streets.”
She also encouraged those listening to research the laws of wherever they live and consult attorneys to keep their protest activities legal and emphasized they should be nonviolent.
“We know that we are peaceful, loving people, and this is not about violence,” Crockett said.
Cruz and his co-host sat down with Musk at the White House recently for a two-part podcast session during which they talked about his background in technology, sending humans to Mars and other topics.
The Friday podcast featured comments actor John Cusack made during the event Crockett joined. Cusack described Musk as “this arch villain of late-stage capitalism,” a “criminal” a “sociopath” and a “ghoul.”
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who has clashed with Crockett before, responded to a post on X about the “Tesla Takedown” call.
“A Member of Congress is organizing political violence and terrorism,” Greene posted.
The Trump administration has come to Musk’s defense as critics target Tesla.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick urged Fox News viewers to buy Tesla stock. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has labeled attacks on Teslas as “domestic terrorism.”
Trump recently announced he would buy a Tesla and checked out various models with Musk at the White House.
Trump praised Musk’s work rooting out misguided federal spending and criticized those targeting the company.
“They love the product, but because he’s finding all sorts of terrible things that have taken place against our country they want to penalize him in an economic sense,” Trump said. “That’s very unfair.”
Joseph Morton covers the intersection of business and politics in the Washington Bureau. Before joining The News, Joseph worked for CQ Roll Call and the Omaha World-Herald. He graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism.
