On Saturday, the two corners of Searingtown and Port Washington Road in Manhasset were packed with protestors—many of whom don’t regularly take on that role.
“This year is the first time I've been at rallies or protests,” said Chris G, who led chants on a megaphone to the group of over 50 anti-Elon Musk protestors on Saturday. “I’m here because Elon Musk is telling lies about what he wants to do for the government. He's saying he stands for efficiency, yet he's illegally firing tons of employees, and because it’s illegal, there are millions of dollars in lawsuits to get those employees back. He's not saving the U.S. taxpayers any money.”
The protest was organized by Manhasset’s chapter of Tesla Takedown, a nationwide grassroots protest movement. It began in early 2025 to target Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk, in response to Musk’s work in the federal government, which has been marked by aggressive budget cuts.
The Manhasset chapter was started by local resident Christopher Lee a few weeks ago, who had never organized a protest before the group’s first one the prior weekend.
“I think a lot of people in the Manhasset area are actually very unhappy and angry,” Lee said. “I got involved when I saw that there were only protests happening in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Suffolk County, upstate and New Jersey. And I thought, ‘Why don't we have one in Nassau County?’” Lee acknowledged the recent protest at Westbury’s Tesla dealership and said he thought it was important to have more protests in other parts of Nassau.
“Westbury is a further drive out for some people. I wanted more people to be aware of what is happening in our federal government, in our state, and in our county. I wanted an additional place where we could gather and peacefully protest,” Lee added, emphasizing that the group aimed to strategically further awareness about Musk's national actions in Manhasset's conservative stronghold.
He wasn’t at this Saturday’s rally, however, partially due to online retaliation and doxing he had received from Republican Laura Loomer and other conservatives, some of whom belong to the Long Island-based nationwide conservative group Loud Majority US, which staged a counter-protest on the street corner opposite to the Tesla Takedown protestors both weekends.
Lee said allegations were levied against him questioning his status as a US citizen and that he was paid to protest, both of which he said were unequivocally untrue.
Over a dozen Nassau County Police Officers were in attendance this weekend in an attempt to keep things civil between the two sides.
“I’ve been a fan of Trump’s since 2016,” said Lea Teragallo, who was counterprotesting alongside roughly 35 others with Loud Majority US, which has been designated as an anti-government group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization which tracks groups of that nature across the country.
“I just want to support him, and I do love DOGE,” Teragallo said, referring to Musk’s new Department of Government Efficiency. “I think it’s so important for our country. Our government is very bloated, and it needs to scale down to be more efficient in working for taxpayer dollars.”
[caption id="attachment_291802" align="alignnone" width="616"]![]()
Counter protestors with Loud Majority US, a local conservative group, across from the Tesla Takedown protestors on Saturday. Isabella Gallo[/caption]
Members of the counter-protest said it was organized by email and social media but were unable to pinpoint a single person responsible for this specific counter-protest to Schneps Media LI, Loud Majority US, as an organization, did not respond to a request for comment.
At one point during the protest, members from the Loud Majority side crossed over to argue with members on the Tesla Takedown side. This resulted in a group of about five people shouting at each other on the side of the road for around 10 minutes. A Loud Majority of protestors recorded the interaction.
“I feel that the American people haven't had a voice in the last four years. I feel that our money was going to countries that really didn't deserve it. Meanwhile, we, the American people, were hurting financially,” said Patrice Mytides of Loud Majority, who also cited immigration and crime as why he had come to the counterprotest. “I like Elon Musk. What he's doing with those is amazing. He's uncovering funds that my tax dollars are going to that I do not agree with.”
However, the parents of anti-Musk protestor Ellen Cooper, who previously identified as Republicans, said Musk’s recent actions had turned them against the party and brought them out to this protest with her, one of the first they had ever been to.
“My life is generally comfortable, but so many things have been happening. I started to think about how could I get involved here,” said Judy Cooper, Ellen’s mother. “Some of these illegal actions that are going on are, frankly, quite scary.”
“This is not merely a policy difference. The fact that Musk has been very vigorously trying to overturn our Constitution and laws goes beyond any policy difference,” said her father, Roger Cooper. “Some of the things, if they were done the right way, I might support, but there is a proper way of doing things.”
Viviane Stone, 69, also identified herself as someone who had rarely protested prior to this month.
“I don't want to be out here. This is not me,” Stone said. “I'm just appalled at the destruction of our democracy that's happened since January 20, and I can't stay sit at home anymore.”
Stone said she had made a regular practice of bringing protest signs to various street corners in the area and standing by herself this month. She said the Nassau County Police Department did not like this, as they would tell her to leave the corner for her own protection.
“The police always come to surround me. Nassau County police don't seem to be really embracing the First Amendment protest, she added. “I can't wait for organized protests. It starts with one person. I'm just doing the best I can.”
Both groups chanted to the sound of constant honking and varying degrees of support from cars passing by for roughly 3 hours, dispersing around 2 p.m.
When asked if he planned to continue organizing Manhasset Tesla Takedown protests, Lee said that though he didn’t know the frequency with which he’d do so, he planned to keep the group active.
“There's no stopping it,” Lee said. “We're not backing down. We have a right to peaceful protest and free speech.”
Counter protestors with Loud Majority US, a local conservative group, across from the Tesla Takedown protestors on Saturday. Isabella Gallo[/caption]
Members of the counter-protest said it was organized by email and social media but were unable to pinpoint a single person responsible for this specific counter-protest to Schneps Media LI, Loud Majority US, as an organization, did not respond to a request for comment.
At one point during the protest, members from the Loud Majority side crossed over to argue with members on the Tesla Takedown side. This resulted in a group of about five people shouting at each other on the side of the road for around 10 minutes. A Loud Majority of protestors recorded the interaction.
“I feel that the American people haven't had a voice in the last four years. I feel that our money was going to countries that really didn't deserve it. Meanwhile, we, the American people, were hurting financially,” said Patrice Mytides of Loud Majority, who also cited immigration and crime as why he had come to the counterprotest. “I like Elon Musk. What he's doing with those is amazing. He's uncovering funds that my tax dollars are going to that I do not agree with.”
However, the parents of anti-Musk protestor Ellen Cooper, who previously identified as Republicans, said Musk’s recent actions had turned them against the party and brought them out to this protest with her, one of the first they had ever been to.
“My life is generally comfortable, but so many things have been happening. I started to think about how could I get involved here,” said Judy Cooper, Ellen’s mother. “Some of these illegal actions that are going on are, frankly, quite scary.”
“This is not merely a policy difference. The fact that Musk has been very vigorously trying to overturn our Constitution and laws goes beyond any policy difference,” said her father, Roger Cooper. “Some of the things, if they were done the right way, I might support, but there is a proper way of doing things.”
Viviane Stone, 69, also identified herself as someone who had rarely protested prior to this month.
“I don't want to be out here. This is not me,” Stone said. “I'm just appalled at the destruction of our democracy that's happened since January 20, and I can't stay sit at home anymore.”
Stone said she had made a regular practice of bringing protest signs to various street corners in the area and standing by herself this month. She said the Nassau County Police Department did not like this, as they would tell her to leave the corner for her own protection.
“The police always come to surround me. Nassau County police don't seem to be really embracing the First Amendment protest, she added. “I can't wait for organized protests. It starts with one person. I'm just doing the best I can.”
Both groups chanted to the sound of constant honking and varying degrees of support from cars passing by for roughly 3 hours, dispersing around 2 p.m.
When asked if he planned to continue organizing Manhasset Tesla Takedown protests, Lee said that though he didn’t know the frequency with which he’d do so, he planned to keep the group active.
“There's no stopping it,” Lee said. “We're not backing down. We have a right to peaceful protest and free speech.”