Dozens of so-called “Tesla Takedown” protests took place around the country over the weekend. One such rally took place at Somerset Mall in Troy, where more than 100 demonstrators gathered on the sidewalk outside because of the Tesla store inside.

Organizer Hank Kennedy says the goal of the protest is to get Elon Musk to leave his advisory role in the White House. They hope to hit the world’s richest man in his wallet by discouraging others from doing business with his electric car company, Tesla.

Listen: Tesla Takedown protestors rally outside Somerset Mall

“I do not think he has any conscience in his body,” says Kennedy. “I think the only way he will respond is if he feels some sort of economic pain.”

The stock market price for a share of Tesla has dropped by about 25% in the last month. It’s down 46% since President Trump took office.

Despite that downward trend, the electric vehicle maker is only down about 9% since the November election. Tesla’s value had soared to record highs in December.

Chris from Sterling Heights, who didn’t share his last name, says for him the protests are also about calling out the Trump administration’s policies, on issues like immigration.

“I can’t sit idly by anymore,” he said. It’s become too big of a deal, it’s too important now. If I just sit by on the sideline and just let it happen, I’m part of the problem.”

Kennedy says the group did get some support from passing motorists, who would honk or wave a fist in support.

“We also get some people who flip you the bird,” said Kennedy. “I had some friends of mine…last week somebody threw a cup filled with ice at them. And that’s why I think these charges that we’re violent are so ridiculous.”

There have been incidents of Tesla vandalism nationwide. However, law enforcement groups say those acts have been carried out by individuals and are not largely coordinated.

Editor’s note: The above audio incorrectly states that the Detroit Department of Transportation is seeking $2 million budget increase to hire more bus drivers and replace old buses. The correct figure is $20 million.

Tonight on The Detroit Evening Report, we share the latest on the shooting at Corewell Health Beaumont Troy Hospital; a rally against cuts to Medicaid outside Michigan Congressmen John James’ office and more.

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Suspect arrested in Troy hospital shooting

Police have arrested a man suspected of shooting a co-worker inside a parking garage at Corewell Health Beaumont Troy Hospital Thursday morning. Troy police say the shooting took place just after 7 a.m. The 25-year-old victim is in stable condition after being shot in the arm. The hospital, nearby schools and some roadways were locked down during the search.

Rally for Medicaid

Roughly 100 unionized health care workers and others depending on Medicaid payments gathered outside the office of Michigan Congressman John James on Wednesday, asking him to vote against cuts.

Protesters say cuts to the federal portion of Medicaid could cost health care workers their jobs, and force nursing homes to close. Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib joined the rally — miles away from her own constituents — to argue that the votes of three or four of her Republican colleagues could save the insurance program.

“Because Medicaid cuts would devastate so many of my families in my district. And I know if John James could just join us to choose the people that elected him, not Trump or Elon Musk, and all of us will have his back if he chooses to do the right thing,” Tlaib said.

Congressional Republicans are considering changes in Medicaid to help cover the cost of President Trump’s planned tax cuts. 

Auto industry braces for layoffs

Car dealers and UAW local leaders are bracing for possible layoffs as a result of the Trump Administration’s tariff war.

Inventory on car lots are high and consumer confidence is weakened as buyers contend with potential price increases. Many UAW leaders told the Detroit Free Press they are concerned the tariff war will disrupt production at plants. Last week, President Trump announced a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports from all countries, which will impact carmakers. 

RenCen’s Tower 600 sold

The Renaissance Center’s Tower 600 was sold in a small auction Wednesday for $9.2 million. The winner is currently unknown.

The bidding started Monday at $2.75 million. The auction comes at a time when the future of the rest of the Renaissance Center is in limbo. Tower 600 has 334,000 square feet and is only 11% occupied. 

DDOT seeks budget increase

The Detroit Department of Transportation is asking for a $20 million budget increase to hire more bus drivers and replace old buses. DDOT officials told city council they expect to hire 63 more drivers and replace 45 buses. The department is also looking to add or upgrade at least 60 shelters with solar lighting, USB charging ports, and improved access and benches. DDOT runs 169 buses in the morning and 179 in the afternoon. The department’s current budget is near $170 million.

Volunteers sought for Southwest Detroit care packages

The Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) is holding an event on Saturday to collect and assemble care packages for the residents that were affected by the recent flood in Southwest Detroit. ACCESS will be accepting donations of items such as personal, feminine, and dental hygiene products; pillow and blankets, and non-perishable food items. The nonprofit is still looking for volunteers. The event will be held between noon and 2 p.m. at the ACCESS Headquarters Gym in Dearborn. 

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

A movement to protest outside a Tesla showroom near Grand Rapids appears to be gaining steam after a second week.

On Monday afternoon, about three dozen people stood outside the showroom on 29th Avenue in Kentwood to protest Tesla CEO Elon Musk. It was not a huge crowd, but it was the second week in a row for protesters. And now there are plans to continue the demonstration on the coming Mondays.

Elizabeth Jenkins said she accidentally became the organizer of the protest after looking into protests at other Tesla dealerships nationwide, and deciding that West Michigan should have its own protests.

“Last week I told my mom, ‘I accidentally signed up to make a protest, do you want to come with me?’ And I thought it was just her and me.”

Instead, dozens showed up. And since there was interest to do it again, Jenkins said she planned a second event, with more to come after this week.

Jenkins’ mom, Eileen, said she didn’t expect the small protest to make a big difference, but it’s important for her to make a statement.

“I don’t think that it will affect Elon Musk very much,” Eileen Jenkins said. “I think he looks at us as minor. But I do think that money is the only thing he understands, and this is the only way we can — I don’t know — make a money statement.”

Protesters have been making statements at Tesla showrooms around the nation in recent weeks, including regular protests at the Tesla showroom in Ann Arbor.

They oppose deep cuts made by a new government agency known as DOGE, spearheaded by Musk. Eileen Jenkins said Musk had taken the purse strings from the government by slashing programs without oversight from Congress.

The protests at the showroom just outside Grand Rapids started later than others around the nation, and so far have been smaller than some seen in other cities.

But Monday’s demonstration drew some who’ve not been part of protests in the past.

Tom Northway said he was a former Republican who hadn’t gone to a protest since he protested against the Vietnam War.

He said he’s been increasingly alarmed by both Trump and Elon Musk, and he was inspired watching an interview with Nobel Prize winner Maria Ressa, a journalist in the Philippines whose outlet, Rappler, pushed back against the administration of Rodrigo Duterte, despite facing prosecution. Still, Northway said initially he wasn’t sure if he wanted to join Monday’s protest. He followed along with the event plans on social media.

“I looked up and saw there was only five people, and I thought, ‘Eh I don’t think I’m going to do that,’” Northway said. “And then there were 10 last Saturday night, and then yesterday afternoon I looked and it was 140. I said ‘Okay, I got a couple hours that I can spare and I got nothing else to do.’”

On Monday, he stood across the street from the Tesla showroom with his dog Jagger and held a sign that said, “Elon Musk is a Nazi,” a statement he said he felt comfortable with after seeing Musk give a gesture that appeared to some to be similar to a Nazi salute following a speech in Washington D.C.

“I have no problems carrying this and thinking I’m correct,” Northway said. “If somebody doesn’t stand up and say this is wrong, if everybody sits back on their couches, then nothing gets done.”

A Kentwood police officer at the front of the showroom said staff did not wish to comment on the protest.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued about 300,000 recalls of cars in recent days, ranging from Kia to Mercedes.

The problems include faulty brakes, software errors and even potentially damaged engines.

But the nonprofit National Safety Council estimates that roughly one out of every five recalled vehicles are never repaired.

Council Program Manager Lonny Haschel told WDET that failing to address a recall can pose a hazard on the roadways.

In cases involving defective air bags, he says, delaying repairs could prove to be a deadly mistake.

Listen: Millions of Michigan drivers riding with danger after avoiding recall repairs

The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Lonny Haschel, Program Manager, National Safety Council: Nationwide, our partners at Carfax estimate there are over 57 million vehicles with open safety recalls.  And in Michigan there’s over 1.5 million vehicles with open safety recall. So about one out of every five cars you see on the road or in the parking lot have an open recall of some type.

Quinn Klinefelter, WDET News: And in the Council’s view, that could create dangers for everyone driving on a roadway?

LH: It certainly can. What happens is sometimes people do their own risk assessment. They can learn about a recall from our website, for example, CheckToProtect.org. You can go there, enter your license plate or your vehicle identification number, or you can take a picture of either one and upload it. It’ll tell you if there’s a recall. People may see something like a “canister purge valve,” which to me, that means absolutely nothing. But when the mechanics and the professionals at the dealership start looking at that, it actually can cause a fuel tank to collapse on itself and cause the vehicle to stall or not start again. If you’re out on the Interstate in the afternoon rush hour and you’re in that left lane, that can be a huge safety issue. So we want to make sure that folks are being proactive about their own safety.

QK: Does an owner typically get notified if there’s a recall? Or is it on them to search out the information and find whether their vehicle is under a recall order or not?

LH: If you own a new vehicle, you’re going to have a relationship with the dealership and the manufacturer knows you have that car. If you are like me, who a lot of Americans are, the average age of cars people own in the United States right now is 11 years old. I drive a 15-year-old pickup truck. I’m the fourth owner of that thing. So the manufacturer may not know I have it. If you’re a new car owner, you’re going to absolutely get a notification letter. Many people receive a letter for a vehicle they don’t even own anymore, because it takes a while for that to catch up. Again, by being proactive, going to CheckToProtect.org, you don’t have to sit around and wait on a letter when there could be a safety risk for you or your family. If they hear that their vehicle type might be involved in a recall, they should search it out themselves.

QK: So they should take the initiative?

LH: We work with a lot of drivers’ education programs across the country. We’re trying to instill in everybody that this is a part of regular maintenance. You check your oil, you check your brakes, your windshield wipers, you get your oil changed. You should also take a few minutes and go to CheckToProtect.org to see if maybe there was a recall issued on your car in the three, six months, or whenever it was between oil changes. Because it could happen at any time.

“We’re trying to instill that [checking for recalls] is a part of regular maintenance.” 

–Lonny Haschel, Program Manager, National Safety Council

QK: Typically recall announcements say bring the vehicle in and it will be fixed at the dealers’ expense. But if you are the second, third, fourth owner of the vehicle, can you still have the recalled part fixed at no cost?

LH: The recall repair is absolutely free, regardless of who’s driving it. Let’s say Aunt Susie let you drive her pickup truck because she didn’t need it and you’ve had it for about a year and a half. You can check yourself if the vehicle’s under a recall, even if you don’t necessarily have a relationship with a dealer because it’s your aunt’s car or truck. On our website, if it shows there’s a recall, we have a “Find a Dealer” button so we can connect you with a dealership to set up an appointment and get that repair done for free, regardless if you’re the owner or not.

QK: Does that recall cost-covering ever expire if the vehicle is no longer under warranty?

LH: Even if the vehicle is out of that warranty time frame, if there is a safety recall it will be repaired for free.

QK: When you talk to drivers, owners, et cetera, what kind of reasons do you hear for why they don’t get a recalled vehicle repaired?

LH: A lot of times they just didn’t know it was free. Sometimes we get younger drivers we partner with, like some in the U.S. military, for example, who’ve never been exposed to a vehicle recall because their parent or caregiver always took care of that. They didn’t have to deal with a vehicle safety recall until they bought their first car in their mid to late 20s. So it is a simple lack of awareness. Sometimes they say that it doesn’t seem important because my car is running fine right now… But it’s not a problem until it’s a problem. We want people to get things fixed before anything happens. It is truly a safety issue for both everyone in that vehicle and those on the roadway around them.

In Michigan, 1.5 million vehicles have been recalled but not yet repaired. That includes over 150,00 with Takata airbags. Back 10 years ago, there were more than 60 million of those vehicles recalled because the inflator can come apart and send pieces of metal through the passenger compartment.  There’s been over 400 people injured and over 20 that lost their lives due to this. Some of those vehicles with Takata air bags are under a “Do not drive” warning. If you go to CheckToProtect.org and you see that pull up, it’ll have a warning on there that you’re not supposed to drive the vehicle. You need to call the dealership. Either they will repair it on site or sometimes they’ll send a tow truck out to get it. It’s that serious.

President Donald Trump has paused auto tariffs on vehicles imported from Canada and Mexico for one month.

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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt made the announcement Wednesday afternoon.

“We spoke with the Big Three auto dealers. We are going to give a one-month extension on any autos coming through [the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement],” she said. “Reciprocal tariffs will still go into effect on April 2, but at the request of the companies associated with USMCA, the president is giving them an exemption for one month, so they are not at an economic disadvantage.” 

Trump spoke with representatives of General Motors, Ford and Stellantis this week. He imposed 25% tariffs Tuesday on imports from Canada and Mexico, including vehicles. 

Those taxes would have eventually raised car and truck prices for Americans by thousands of dollars. 

Other headlines for Wednesday, March 5, 2025:

• Detroit officials will present $300,000 in grants Wednesday night for legacy businesses in the city as part of a new initiative to support small businesses, called the Detroit Legacy Business Project.
• Lafayette Coney Island has reopened after passing inspection by the City of Detroit. The legendary downtown Detroit restaurant had been closed since late January because of health code violations.
• The exterior of the new Hudson’s Detroit building has been completed after builders say the last external panel of glass was installed Tuesday.
• Gas prices in Detroit are under $3 per gallon for the first time in a while, according to AAA Michigan. Analysts say lower crude oil prices have contributed to the trend, but gas prices could rise in coming weeks because of tariffs on imports from Canada. 

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

President Donald Trump’s long-threatened 25% tariffs against Canada and Mexico went into effect on Tuesday. Economists warn the tax on goods could be harmful to the U.S. and its trade partners.

The measure was set to be enacted a month ago but was pushed back, as Trump warned neighboring countries to crack down on drug trafficking and illegal immigration — without laying out any specific guidance. Meanwhile, legislation in Washington has given an April deadline for agencies to review trade policies.

Dr. Rob Gillezeau, an assistant professor of economic analysis and policy at the University of Toronto in Canada, told WDET tariffs have the potential to be especially damaging to the auto industry, where parts can cross the border several times during the manufacturing process.

“The Big Three are going to be decimated,” he said. “This feels like a perfectly designed policy by the president to do as much harm to Ontario, and to Michigan, as one could imagine.”

Of the roughly $50 billion in goods that enter Michigan from Canada each year, about 55% is tied to the transportation sector, according to the Canadian Consulate General in Detroit. Gillezeau said the tariffs have the potential to cast the Canadian economy into a recession.

“I suspect it won’t be as deep as the bottom of COVID,” Gillezeau said. “It won’t be as deep as the Great Depression, fingers crossed. It will likely be deeper than every other recession that has happened to the country.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has threatened to turn off electricity exports from Ontario in response to the tariffs, among other steps.

Listen: Canadian economics professor discusses impacts of tariffs on US-Canada relations

Related:

• What are tariffs? And how could they affect consumers?
• Michigan Congresswoman says tariffs on Canadian and Mexican products could crash U.S. auto industry
• Experts: Effect of tariffs on Michigan economy will depend on details