Dozens of protesters gathered outside Elon Musk's home in West Lake Hills, Texas, on Saturday for what organizers billed as a 'People Over Billionaires Election After Party,' an event featuring two chartered party buses, music, speeches and piñatas shaped like Tesla Cybertrucks.
The demonstration was organized by three nonprofits: VOCAL-TX, a fiscally sponsored project of a New York-based nonprofit; the Center for Popular Democracy Inc. of Brooklyn; and People's Action, a political nonprofit based in Chicago. The three groups reported a combined $56.1 million in 2024 revenue, according to their most recent tax filings, though they are separate entities and the figures do not represent a shared operating budget.
About 60 people attended, according to estimates. Participants arrived in two blue Fly-Rides party buses and additional vehicles, and organizers played music, including Queen's 'We Will Rock You,' over loudspeakers. 'We'll bring the music, you bring the dance moves! This is family friendly, peaceful and FUN event!' organizers wrote in promoting the gathering.
Attendees carried signs reading 'Texas is not for sale' and 'Alright Texas! Now let's tax Musk,' and smashed star-shaped piñatas as well as ones shaped like a Tesla Cybertruck. The Austin American-Statesman covered the gathering under the headline 'Dozens party outside Elon Musk's West Lake Hills home after campaign donations fell flat,' describing a 'Love Train' conga line, party hats and refreshments including cider.
Eli Cortez, a VOCAL-TX bus captain, told attendees the event was meant to celebrate voters rejecting the political influence of billionaires, according to the Statesman. Cortez did not respond to a request for comment, and leaders of the three organizations also did not answer queries from Fox News Digital. The groups have previously insisted that their local protests stem from 'organic' community organizing.
The protest focused on Musk's spending during the 2026 election cycle. A New York Times analysis placed his total disclosed political spending at approximately $474 million, while analyses based more narrowly on Federal Election Commission filings put the figure at roughly $445 million. About $212 million supported Texas Republican Ken Paxton's unsuccessful Senate campaign through allied political committees.
Also on display were at least two copies of a poster showing Musk beside the words 'I AM STEALING FROM YOU,' an image that has become a fixture at demonstrations nationwide. The Progressive Change Institute, the sister organization of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, has taken credit for commissioning the artwork early last year from Washington, D.C., street artist Absurdly Well, and the broader 'Hands Off' protest network distributed thousands of copies. The group now offers donors anti-Musk poster packs in exchange for contributions.
Several of Saturday's organizers helped lead last year's 'Tesla Takedown' protests, which began at Texas dealerships in early 2025 over Musk's role in the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency and sometimes led to vandalism against Tesla vehicles and dealerships. A Fox News Digital investigation found that 258 organizations with combined annual revenues of an estimated $2.6 billion were behind those protests.
The most recent tax filings detail the scale of the three groups behind the weekend event. The Center for Popular Democracy reported $40.9 million in 2024 revenue, and its two co-executive directors received average total compensation of $234,026, about four times the $63,360 median annual earnings of full-time, year-round U.S. workers. VOCAL-NY, the fiscal sponsor of VOCAL-TX, reported $13.1 million in revenue and listed its Texas co-director among its highest-paid employees, earning $113,842 in salary and $21,854 in bonuses. People's Action Institute reported $2.1 million.
While Saturday's event was peaceful, researchers at organizations such as the Network Contagion Research Institute have concluded that demonizing rhetoric at protests can create a 'permission structure' for political violence. May Day Strong, a coalition that describes itself as a 'constellation' of more than 600 labor and community organizations, was tagged in social media promotion of the event.
