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Elon Musk’s work for President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency has turned Tesla dealerships and showrooms into protest zones, and the recent wave of demonstrations has inspired the beginnings of a new visual language of protests in Trump’s second term. Protests were organized at more than three dozen Tesla locations over the weekend, where people spoke out against DOGE access to government data and cuts the agency has made to government programs. Turnout varied widely from a dozen or so protesters at some events to hundreds who showed up to a protest in San Francisco. These protests represent a more visible sign of anger at Musk, by using one of his most powerful and accessible visual proxies in the public domainthe Tesla brandas a platform for dissent. Decatur, Georgia. February 15th, 2025. [Photo: Erik S Lesser/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock] Messaging for higher stakes The signage at these recent protests stands in contrast to that of protests four years ago. When Trump first took office in 2017, protests like the Women’s March inspired a new generation of Instagram-friendly protest signs. “Protest is the new brunch” read one sign at a protest outside Trump’s then-Washington, D.C., hotel. “So bad, even introverts are here,” read another at a protest in New York City. For Millennial and Gen Z protesters who were too young to protest the Vietnam or Iraq wars, these cute, clever signs signaled a mass movement that was new and novel. A 2018 Pew Research Center survey found that more than a quarter of U.S. adults said they had attended a protest in the previous five years. Columbus, Ohio. February 9th, 2025. [Photo: Paul Becker/Becker1999/Flickr] Trump’s second inauguration, though, wasn’t met with another Women’s March. Even considering the higher turnout of protests during Trump’s first term, the tone of protest signs during that period are trivial by comparison. This time around, visuals indicate a rightful feeling among protestors that the stakes are much higherand protest signs in recent days outside Tesla dealerships and showrooms from Arlington, Virginia; Berkley, California; Seattle; as well as outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., show as much. Seattle, Washington. February 15th, 2025. [Photo: Jason Redmond/AFP/Getty Images] Images of Musk giving a straight-arm salute at Trump’s inauguration rally compared to a Nazi salute are popular, with messages like “Tesla Funds Fascists,” which appeared on a sign in Seattle. At a protest in Arlington, Virginia, one sign showed the Nazi symbol with a line through it and the words “Get Musk Out of Our Government.” Other signs feature pro-democracy messages or criticize Musk, the world’s richest man, for holding so much power despite the fact that the American public did not elect him, and the Senate did not confirm him. At a protest outside a Tesla showroom in San Francisco, signs read, “Uphold Our Constitution,” “Uphold the Rule of Law,” “Unelected, Greedy, Dangerous,” and “Defund Elon, No More Government Contracts.” At a protest in Manhattan, signs included “Friendly Reminder, Elon Musk is Not the President” and “Presidents Are Not Kings.” New York, New York. February 15th, 2025. [Photo: Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg/Getty Images] Although many of the protest signs are serious in nature, humor isn’t completely out of the question, as seen in a sign that read “Bad DOGE.” One sticker that went viral on TikTok warns “Don’t Buy a Swasticar.” While some signs would work equally well in 2017 as 2025, there is less affinity for cringey puns, and the tone is less flippant. @everyonehateselon free stickers. link in bio #elon #peoplevselon #tesla original sound – People vs Elon Tesla protest’s business impact Musk’s businesses have come under attack for their owner’s politics. In addition to dealer protests, anti-Musk bumper stickers for Teslas rocketed up the Amazon sales chart after the election last year, and calls to boycott Musk’s companies growing. Singer Sheryl Crow announced she got rid of her Tesla. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sheryl Crow (@sherylcrow) The electric car company saw a sharp 16% drop in sales between December and January, although that could be attributable to a variety of factors, including a focus on end of year sales. Its still too early to see any (Musk backlash) in the Tesla numbers, Stephanie Valdez Streaty, director of industry insights for Cox Automotive, told CNN. Protest may no longer be the new brunch, but a different visual language is emerging for a new era where protests are less of a fad. Criticizing Trump as fascist isn’t new, but Musk’s salute gives the line of attack a striking new visual while Trump’s attempts to expand his executive powers gives it a heightened sense of urgency. Messages on signs today are more pointed because the threat to democracy protesters are demonstrating against is less abstract, it’s things DOGE is doing right now.
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E-Commerce
To update the Obama Foundations visual identity ahead of the opening of former President Barack Obamas presidential center in Chicago next year, the designers tasked with the project had to figure out what to do with its already iconic typeface: Gotham.GQ first commissioned the geometric sans-serif typeface in 2000, but Obamas 2008 presidential campaign made it famous (at least in design circles). The type has since become something of a default font for politics, even being co-opted, ironically, by President Donald Trumps 2024 campaign. In effect, the aim for the Obama Foundations rebrand was clear: The designers had to make a completely saturated typeface feel fresh again.That was a key challenge at the beginning of the project, Tom Crabtree, creative director at the brand design studio Manual, tells Fast Company. [Gotham is] simple, its very neutral, but for me, it didnt really have that sort of fresh, vibrant, youthful energy.[Image: Manual]Vibrancy and youthfulness were key to conveying the organizations message of forward momentum, community engagement, and the power of individual action to create lasting change. Manual worked on the brand refresh alongside the digital product agency Work & Co, which updated Obama.org and other digital design projects. Sara Soskolne, who worked on the original Gotham at the type foundry Hoefler&Co. and is now a type designer at Monotype, also contributed. Their work, which is now live on the Obama Foundation website, will continue to roll out into next year with the centers opening.[Image: Manual]Three new versions of GothamManual collaborated with Soskolne to create three bespoke versions of Gotham to keep the established Obama brand equity the typeface offers while still pushing it forward. Their first reinvention is Gotham Slab Condensed, a slab-serif display typeface designed for editorial use around communications related to civics, history, and education.[Image: Manual]The second iteration is Gotham Stencil Condensed, which uses a stencil effect meant to look more contemporary. Its intended for use in communications around community engagement and sustainability. Gotham Inline Condensed uses a striped letterform that evokes the stripes in the Obama campaign O logo; it will be utilized for communications about athletics, music, and performance.[Image: Manual]Gotham feels new again, Crabtree says. It uses the bones of a typeface, but it sort of modulates in different ways.That modulation and versatility are crucial for the refreshed identity, which will show up online, in assets for the Obama Foundations programming and work, and on wayfinding signage, ticketing, and maps at the presidential center, which will serve as a community hub, museum, and library. The branding needs to communicate more traditional, presidential, and somber messages, but also be dynamic for a foundation that seeks to inspire a new generation of leaders.[Image: Manual]Part of the museum experience is learning about the presidency and looking back, Crabtree says. But I think the Obama Foundation is a very forward-looking organization, and the presidential center is, I would say, as much, if not more, about looking forward as it is having a library and talking about the legacy of the presidency.[Image: Manual]Expanded use of color That forward-looking attitude also shows up in the centers varied color palettes, which arent limited to the red, white, and blue of the former presidents campaign materials. Obama Foundation programs like My Brothers Keeper Alliance, an initiative for boys and young men of color, and Girls Opportunity Alliance, founded by former first lady Michelle Obama, have their own distinct color stories, while the annual Democracy Forum event uses gradients.[Image: Manual]Parker Sapp, a product management leader at Work & Co, says his team first prototyped the 2026 version of Obama.org as it would look after the centers opening, then returned its focus to the current website. And while the agency has worked on nonprofit projects before, Sapp says it was a pleasant surprise to discover how committed to innovation and good design the Obama Foundations team iswhich is fitting when you consider President Obama was the countrys first digital president.Its a design-forward approach that looks nothing like what weve seen from a presidential library before, and its perfectly suited for a brand thats synonymous with hope and change.
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E-Commerce
The upside of friends, roommates, or family members sharing a multiline phone plan is everyone has a lower monthly bill. The downside, however, is one person is ultimately responsible for both paying that billand gathering what is owed to him or her from their friends each month. AT&T is offering a new way to divvy things up, though. The carrier, on Thursday, will introduce AT&T SplitPay, which will individually bill people on select shared wireless plans. The service will be available immediately. College kids are Venmo-ing each other to share accounts, says Erin Scarborough, AT&Ts President of Broadband & Connectivity Initiatives. Theyre having to calculate account charges per line and were taking that frustration out for them. AT&T says it is patenting the technology behind SplitPay, which has been in the works for over a year. While the company plans to restrict its use to its own cellular network initially, it is considering licensing the technology to other companies (that would, as an example, let people sharing a streaming service split the cost automatically). SplitPay might make it easier for people to pay their share of a bill, but the primary account holder is still ultimately responsible for ensuring any financial obligations are met. Each person on the plan will get a text asking them to pay whatever their share of the bill is (including all fees). If they fail to do so, however, the primary account holder will receive a notification five days before the bill is due, letting them know who hasnt yet paid. If that person neglects to make a payment, the primary account holder will be charged and will have to recover the money from their friend (or family member) separately. SplitPay will allow for recurring payments as well, to minimize this scenario. To sign up for the SplitPay service, AT&T account owners can log on to att.com/splitpay and assign a payor to each line. Several companies, from Google to Airbnb, have tested out group payment methods in the past, but AT&T says the individual billing for a shared account is an industry first. Eighty-five percent of our customers have multiple line and we believe at least half of those are using split pay on their own in some form, says Scarborough. This is the first and only [payment system] of its kind in our industry. Were happy to solve a pain point and solve it first.
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