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Anti-Elon Musk protests 2025: Everything you need to know

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Why are people protesting against Elon Musk?

Elon Musk, once celebrated as a tech visionary behind Tesla and SpaceX, has faced growing backlash due to his political ties, controversial corporate decisions and provocative public statements.

Born in 1971 in Pretoria, South Africa, Elon Musk co-founded Zip2 in 1995, which was sold to Compaq in 1999. He then launched X.com, which merged with Confinity to form PayPal, acquired by eBay in 2002. 

His later ventures, SpaceX (2002) and Tesla (2004), solidified his status as a leading innovator in aerospace and electric vehicles. In 2022, Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion and later rebranded the platform as X, integrating it into his broader vision for an “everything app.”

Initially celebrated for his technological contributions, Musk’s public image began to shift in the late 2010s for several reasons:

Political involvement: Musk’s association with conservative politics, notably his support for US President Donald Trump and his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), drew criticism. His advocacy for significant federal spending cuts and program eliminations fueled discontent.Corporate practices: Decisions like relocating Tesla’s headquarters from California to Texas and implementing controversial labor practices contributed to negative perceptions. These actions were seen as prioritizing profit over employee welfare and regulatory compliance.Public statements: Musk’s public communications, especially on social media, often sparked controversy. Critics accused him of spreading misinformation and promoting conspiracy theories, which eroded trust among certain groups.

Did you know? Despite popular narratives of Elon Musk as a self-made entrepreneur, he came from a wealthy South African family. His father, Errol Musk, is suspected of owning an emerald mine in Zambia, and Elon has acknowledged receiving financial support from his family during his early ventures.

Anti-Elon Musk protests in 2025

By 2025, the aforementioned factors culminated in widespread protests targeting Musk and his business interests. 

The demonstrations were driven by core grievances:

Wealth disparity: Musk’s net worth, which reached $400 billion in December 2024, had declined to $298 billion by April 2025 due to stock market fluctuations and political controversies. His accumulation of wealth highlighted growing economic inequalities, with protesters viewing it as emblematic of systemic issues favoring the ultra-wealthy.Political influence: Musk’s significant political engagement, particularly his advisory role to Trump and influence over DOGE policies, has raised concerns about the concentration of power among wealthy elites. Critics feared this influence undermined democratic processes and prioritized corporate interests over public welfare.Corporate practices: Actions such as aggressive cost-cutting measures, perceived labor exploitation and controversial business decisions led to dissatisfaction among employees and consumers. The “Tesla Takedown” movement, for example, targeted Tesla showrooms, criticizing Musk’s leadership and corporate strategies.Social and environmental concerns: Musk’s business decisions were also scrutinized for their social and environmental impact. Protesters questioned Tesla’s labor practices and the environmental implications of some of his ventures, calling for more ethical and sustainable corporate behaviors.Did you know? A March 2025 Brookings op-ed called DOGE’s naming choice a “branding blunder,” while a CNN/ORC poll found 62% of respondents viewed it as “inappropriate” for a government agency and 44% felt it damaged confidence in the administration’s reform efforts.

Tesla protest events in 2025

The “Tesla Takedown” movement, with demonstrations in over 250 cities worldwide, aimed to challenge Musk’s influence. 

Originating in early 2025, this grassroots initiative organized nonviolent protests at Tesla locations across the US, Canada, Europe and Australia.

Protesters called for boycotts and urged the public to divest from Tesla by selling their vehicles and shares, intending to economically impact Musk and question his political influence.

Two key factors fueled the protests:

Labor practices: Tesla faced allegations of labor rights violations, including reports of employees being fired for expressing dissenting opinions. The National Labor Relations Board had 24 open investigations into Musk’s companies, including allegations of illegal firings at SpaceX.Environmental concerns: Protesters criticized Tesla’s environmental record, highlighting issues such as alleged negligence in the installation and maintenance of solar panels, which led to roof fires at Walmart stores. Walmart filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Tesla, claiming negligent installation and maintenance of solar panels caused roof fires at seven Walmart stores dating back to 2012.

Declining sales figures underscored consumer discontent. In the first quarter of 2025, Tesla’s global vehicle deliveries dropped 13% year-over-year to 336,681 units, marking the company’s lowest quarterly performance since mid-2022.

Did you know? While intended to be peaceful, some protests escalated into acts of vandalism. For example, on March 24, 2025, incendiary devices were discovered at a Tesla dealership in Austin, Texas.

SpaceX controversy 2025

SpaceX’s activities also attracted scrutiny, particularly regarding safety and regulatory compliance. 

The 2025 Starship explosion served as a stark reminder of the risks associated with private space exploration. The largest and most powerful rocket ever built disintegrated minutes after liftoff, scattering debris across protected areas and reigniting debates about safety, environmental responsibility and regulatory oversight in the private spaceflight industry.

Musk’s political involvement further complicated matters. Serving as the head of DOGE, he oversaw significant federal spending cuts and deregulation efforts. This role led to conflicts of interest, especially concerning agencies that regulate his businesses. 

For example, SpaceX faced fines from the Federal Aviation Administration for safety violations, including operating an unapproved launch control room and using non-approved rocket fuel, totaling $633,009.

What does the future hold for Elon Musk amid growing backlash?

Musk’s entanglement in political affairs, particularly his advisory role to President Trump and leadership of DOGE, has led to significant public disapproval. 

A February 2025 poll indicated that 52% of Americans held an unfavorable view of Musk, with only 29% expressing approval.

In response to the mounting criticism, reports suggest that Musk is considering stepping back from his governmental advisory role to focus on his business ventures. Such a move could be aimed at mitigating public perception that his political activities are adversely affecting Tesla’s performance.

However, given Musk’s history of unconventional decisions and resilience, it’s uncertain whether distancing himself from politics will fully quell public dissent or restore consumer confidence in Tesla.

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Saylor signals impending Bitcoin purchase following Q1 earnings call

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Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor hinted at an impending Bitcoin (BTC) purchase, marking the fourth consecutive week of purchases by the BTC treasury company.

The company’s most recent acquisition occurred on April 28 when Strategy purchased 15,355 BTC, valued at over $1.4 billion at the time, bringing the company’s total holdings to 553,555 BTC.

According to data from SaylorTracker, Strategy is up approximately 39% on its investment, representing over $15 billion in unrealized gains.

Strategy’s history of Bitcoin acquisition. Source: SaylorTracker

Bitcoin investors continue closely monitoring the company, which has been a major driver of direct institutional exposure to BTC by popularizing the Bitcoin corporate treasury concept and indirectly through institutions holding Strategy’s stock in their investment portfolios.

Related: Strategy ends April up 32% in best month since November as Q1 earnings loom

Strategy misses Q1 analyst estimates but continues stacking Bitcoin

Strategy fell short of analyst estimates for Q1 2025, reporting approximately $111 million in revenue, down by 3.6% from Q1 2024 and missing analyst expectations by 5%.

However, the company also reported that it acquired 61,497 BTC so far in 2025 and also revealed plans to raise $21 billion through an equity offering to finance the purchase of more BTC.

The quarter-by-quarter growth of Strategy’s Bitcoin treasury. Source: Strategy

Asset manager Richard Byworth recently suggested that Strategy should acquire companies with ample cash reserves and convert those fiat cash reserves to Bitcoin for its treasury.

Byworth added that Strategy could also purchase Bitcoin on the open market as exchange balances dwindle, rather than the over-the-counter (OTC) transactions between private parties that do not affect the market exchange price.

Doing so would push prices higher, driving up the value of Strategy’s Bitcoin reserves and acting as a catalyst attracting even more investors to BTC, the asset manager said.

Strategy’s effect on Bitcoin’s price and Bitcoin adoption continues to draw intense discussion over the role of the company as it relates to market dynamics.

Adam Livingston, a BTC analyst and author of “The Bitcoin Age and The Great Harvest,” recently argued that Strategy’s demand for BTC is synthetically halving Bitcoin by outpacing the daily miner output.

Livingston pointed out that Strategy’s average daily rate of Bitcoin accumulation of roughly 2,087 BTC far outstrips the collective daily mined supply of around 450 BTC.

Magazine: ZK-proofs are bringing smart contracts to Bitcoin — BitcoinOS and Starknet

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‘Everything is lining up’ — Tokenization is having its breakout moment

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Tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) is evolving from an abstract concept to a practical financial tool as institutional players increasingly test and deploy blockchain-based infrastructure at scale.

This past week alone saw a flurry of announcements from both traditional financial institutions and blockchain-native firms advancing their RWA initiatives.

On April 30, BlackRock filed to create a digital ledger technology shares class for its $150 billion Treasury Trust fund. It will leverage blockchain technology to maintain a mirror record of share ownership for investors.

The DLT shares will track BlackRock’s BLF Treasury Trust Fund (TTTXX), which may only be purchased from BlackRock Advisors and The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY).

On the same day, Libre announced plans to tokenize $500 million in Telegram debt through its new Telegram Bond Fund (TBF). The fund will be available to accredited investors and usable as collateral for onchain borrowing.

The week’s biggest headline came from Dubai, where MultiBank Group signed a $3 billion RWA tokenization deal with United Arab Emirates-based real estate firm MAG and blockchain infrastructure provider Mavryk. The deal is touted as the largest RWA tokenization initiative to date.

Source: MultiBank

“The recent surge isn’t arbitrary. It’s happening because everything’s lining up,” Eric Piscini, CEO of Hashgraph, told Cointelegraph:

“Rules are getting clearer in major markets. The tech is stronger, faster, and ready to scale. And big players are actually doing it — BlackRock is tokenizing funds, Citi is exploring digital asset custody, and Franklin Templeton has tokenized money market funds on public blockchains.”

Related: Real-world asset tokenization: Unlocking a new era of finance

Tokenization has moved beyond theory

Marcin Kazmierczak, co-founder of RedStone, said the recent announcements “demonstrate that tokenization has moved beyond theoretical discussions into practical application by market leaders.”

He added that the growing adoption by big institutions gives the space more credibility, making others feel more confident to join in and help boost new ideas and investments.

Kazmierczak stated that the renewed interest in RWA tokenization is primarily driven by US President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto administration and growing regulatory clarity.

Trump, who has pledged to “make the US the crypto capital of the world,” has taken a different approach to crypto compared to the Biden administration. That era saw an aggressive crackdown from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), prompting many firms to withdraw from US operations.

However, the narrative appears to be shifting. Since Trump’s election victory, the SEC has dropped or paused over a dozen enforcement cases against crypto companies.

Additionally, the DOJ recently announced the dissolution of its cryptocurrency enforcement unit, signaling a softer approach to the sector.

Source: ALX

Aside from regulatory clarity, advancements in technological capabilities, especially in wallets, have also played a key role in driving tokenization adoption, Felipe D’Onofrio, chief technology officer at Brickken, said.

“In parallel, macroeconomic pressures are pushing institutions to search for efficiency and liquidity in traditionally illiquid markets,” he added.

Related: New era in mining: How tokenization can transform the salt industry

Ethereum remains main hub for tokenization

Ethereum continues to serve as the primary hub for RWA tokenization, thanks to its mature ecosystem, broad developer support and robust infrastructure.

“Ethereum remains by far the most suitable blockchain for large-scale RWA issuance due to its unparalleled security, developer ecosystem, and institutional adoption,” Kazmierczak said.

However, he noted that dedicated RWA-specialized ecosystems like Canton Network, Plume, and Ondo Chain are building compelling alternatives with features designed explicitly for compliant asset tokenization.

According to data from RWA.xyz, the market value of tokenized US Treasurys currently stands at $6.5 billion. Ethereum accounts for the lion’s share of the market, hosting over $4.9 billion in tokenized Treasurys.

Source: RWA.xyz

Herwig Koningson, CEO of Security Token Market, said companies like BlackRock have shown that it’s possible to build large-scale tokenized products, worth billions of dollars, using more than one blockchain at the same time.

He said this shows that the success of tokenizing assets doesn’t depend so much on which blockchain is used, but rather on what the company needs the system to do.

“This is why you will see many banks and traditional firms use permissioned blockchains or even private DLT systems,” Koningson said.

Related: $21B tokenized RWA market doubtful, institutions uninterested — Plume CEO

Challenges remain, but growth potential is huge

Yet hurdles remain. Regulation continues to be a significant barrier, especially for risk-averse institutions requiring guarantees around compliance and privacy.

Technical limitations also persist, chiefly the lack of interoperability between blockchain platforms, according to Piscini. However, he said hybrid models are gaining traction by offering the privacy of permissioned systems with optional future interoperability with public chains.

Looking ahead, Piscini estimated that more than 10% of global financial assets could be tokenized by the end of the decade. D’Onofrio also made a modest projection, estimating that between 5% and 10% of global financial assets could be tokenized by 2030.

On the other hand, RedStone’s Kazmierczak predicted that approximately 30% of the global financial system will be tokenized by the end of this decade.

In terms of numbers, STM.co predicted that the world’s RWA market will be anywhere between $30 and $50 trillion by the end of 2030.

Most firms predict that the RWA sector will reach a market size of between $4 trillion and $30 trillion by 2030.

If the sector were to achieve the median prediction of about $10 trillion, it would represent more than 50 times the growth from its current value of around $185 billion, including the stablecoin market, according to a Tren Finance research report.

Magazine: Tokenizing music royalties as NFTs could help the next Taylor Swift

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Bitcoin eyes $95K retest as traders brace for Fed rate cut volatility

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Key points:

Bitcoin attacks liquidity clustered close to spot price into the weekly close.

Market commentators eye significant BTC price levels below $95,000.

The Fed’s upcoming interest rate decision is the key macro event to watch next week.

Bitcoin (BTC) fell toward $95,000 into the May 4 weekly close as traders braced for more macro-induced downside.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

BTC price liquidations mount after 10-week highs

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD retreating from multimonth highs toward the May open.

Hitting liquidity clustered around spot price, Bitcoin created a recipe for volatility as market participants discussed key levels.

“Dense longs cluster 95.7k-96k, heavy shorts 96.5k-97k right around current price (~96.2k),” popular trader TheKingfisher wrote in part of ongoing analysis on X. 

“These are price magnets. Expect chop/volatility as they get tested.”BTC liquidation heatmap. Source: CoinGlass

The latest data from monitoring resource CoinGlass showed price colliding with buy liquidity, with the majority of asks clustered around $97,200.

With the past week seeing multiple liquidity “grabs,” some saw the potential for that behavior to continue as the key $100,000 mark edged closer.

$BTC

Gap and tap before liquidity grab at $100k is what I’m looking for here https://t.co/akVEzc3Aaj pic.twitter.com/igCptK8VIp

— NiFτy (@niftyinvest) May 4, 2025

“Positions from $94K–$97K flushed at weekend,” popular trader BitBull summarized.

Assessing the potential for a fresh dip, crypto trader, analyst and entrepreneur Michaël van de Poppe said that BTC/USD had plenty of room to retest support while still maintaining its recent comeback.

“What I’d prefer to see on $BTC is that we’re holding above $91.5-92K,” he told X followers on the day.

“That validates for me the continuation towards a new ATH as the previous range support becomes support again.”BTC/USDT 1-day chart. Source: Michaël van de Poppe/X

Bitcoin downside expected into Fed rate cut decision

Expectations of volatility were high heading into the new week, with the US Federal Reserve due to decide on interest rates.

Related: Bitcoin hodler unrealized profits near 350% as $100K risks sell-off

As Cointelegraph reported, the stakes for market sentiment are high before the event. Recession warnings and pressure from President Donald Trump combine with hawkish signals from Fed officials.

NOTE: In less than a month, Trump has pressured Powell and the Fed to lower interest rates three times already… pic.twitter.com/qaQc7zJnuw

— André Dragosch, PhD⚡ (@Andre_Dragosch) May 2, 2025

The latest data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool nonetheless maintains minimal odds of a rate cut on May 7.

Fed target rate probabilities for May 7 FOMC meeting. Source: CME Group

“Remind yourself that Crypto & Altcoins have the temper to be correcting in the week prior to the FED meeting,” Van de Poppe commented

“I suspect that we’d be having the end of that correction around Tuesday and go up from there.”

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

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