Demonstrators gathered in Fremont on Saturday to protest billionaire Elon Musk's involvement in government and Tesla's operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The group of 75 protesters convened in front of the Tesla factory in Fremont, which prompted a significant police presence, forcing officers to shut down some roads. Many said they were fueled by more than Musk's involvement in slashing jobs in his role at the Department of Government Efficiency.
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WATCH HERE"The way that organization is going into Congo and Sudan to procure coltan and produce these cars," said Chris Christensen.
Tesla has been accused of using child labor to mine for cobalt, which is used in creating lithium-ion batteries.
In 2023, Musk vowed at a shareholders meeting to prove that the electric vehicle company's suppliers were not using child or forced labor at mines in the DRC.
“I heard a question raised about cobalt mining and you know what? We will do a third-party audit,” Musk said at Tesla’s annual meeting in May 2023. “In fact, we’ll put a webcam on the mine. If anybody sees any children, please let us know."
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In that case, 16 plaintiffs accused five companies - Tesla, Alphabet, Apple, Dell Technologies and Microsoft - of deliberately obscuring their dependence on child labor. Some said the labor included pressuring children to work through hunger and poverty.
Saturday's protestors claim their actions stopped production at Tesla's factory.
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"On a consumer level, boycott Tesla. Stop giving them money," said Nick, one of the demonstrators.
