Elon Musk Slams ‘Massive Violence’ Against Tesla: ‘I’ve Not Harmed Anyone’

Elon Musk said he took the backlash against his electric automaker Tesla personally, though he declined to say he regretted the political activity that sparked the “massive violence.”

There were largely peaceful protests against Tesla and Musk around the world in response to the billionaire’s spearheading of federal spending cuts in the U.S. with DOGE, and his promoting of far-right political parties in Europe.

But there were a number of high-profile violent attacks, too, in which Tesla vehicles, showrooms and service centers were targets of vandalism, including arson. The FBI is treating such incidents as domestic terrorism.

‘Evil Thing To Do’

Musk was asked if the Tesla backlash made him regret or have second thoughts about his political endeavors, in a virtual interview at the Qatar Economic Forum on Tuesday.

“I did what needed to be done,” Musk said, criticizing what he called the “violent, antibody reaction” to his political work. “I’m not somebody who has ever committed violence. And yet, massive violence was committed against my companies, and massive violence was threatened against me.

“Who are these people? Why would they do that? How wrong can they be? They’re on the wrong side of history. And that’s an evil thing to do. To go and damage some poor innocent person’s car. To threaten to kill me. What’s wrong with these people? I’ve not harmed anyone.”

Musk added: “So, something needs to be done about them. And a number of them are going to prison. And they deserve it. And more will. Those people will go to prison, and the people that funded them and organized them will also go to prison.”

He closed with a warning, pointing his finger at the camera: “Don’t worry, we’re coming for you.”

White House senior adviser, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk attends a Cabinet meeting at the White House on April 30, 2025, in Washington. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Musk Points To Tesla Stock, Committed As CEO

The anti-Tesla backlash, coupled with intensifying competition from newer models of Chinese electric vehicles, has seen sharp falls in Tesla sales in recent months, though it remains the dominant player in the sector.

The backlash, and Musk’s focus on his work with the White House at the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, led to questions among investors about his ability to lead Tesla as CEO and meet the automaker’s commercial challenges, such as greater competition from rivals.

But he is now turning back toward Tesla and winding down his work with the Trump administration, where he said he still spends one or two days a week.

Musk pointed to Tesla’s share price recovery as evidence that the company is doing well and said he was committed to still being Tesla CEO in five years.

“Our stock wouldn’t be trading near all-time highs if things were not in good shape. They’re fine. Don’t worry about it,” Musk said.

He is also CEO of the spacetech company SpaceX, social media platform X and artificial intelligence firm XAI.

Musk Hails DOGE Progress

So far, DOGE says it has helped to save the federal government $170 billion since January by identifying what it says is waste and fraud in spending, which departments then cut.

Musk previously said DOGE may be able to cut $2 trillion from federal spending. He pushed back against a question asking if DOGE would still be able to achieve $2 trillion in cuts over the course of its life.

“We’re not the dictators, we are the advisors,” Musk said, adding that it did not control the executive, judiciary or the Legislature, but the department had made historic progress nonetheless.

However, a number of DOGE-related cuts are facing challenges in the courts, and polling has shown Americans are tiring of the effort.