If there’s one thing that can momentarily unite a politically charged crowd, it’s a cute dog.
Earlier this week, a Tesla Cybertruck owner unwittingly found himself in the middle of an anti-Trump protest in South Florida. The protest, part of the “No Kings Day” demonstrations against the former president’s policies and cabinet appointments, saw a large turnout of people advocating for everything from immigration protections to government accountability.
So when a Cybertruck (one of the most polarizing vehicles on the road) rolled through the scene, it was like waving a red flag in front of a bull.
As the truck cruised past the protest, boos erupted from the crowd. Tesla’s deep connection to Elon Musk, who was recently appointed to Trump’s administration has clearly become a lightning rod for political controversy.
In the video, one woman can be heard yelling abuse at the driver, while others jeer and mock the vehicle itself. Some onlookers, however, seem more amused than outraged, laughing at the absurdity of the moment.
Because, let’s be honest… this is just silly.
Owning a Tesla doesn’t mean you support Musk’s politics any more than wearing Nike makes you personally responsible for its corporate decisions. But to this particular group of demonstrators, the presence of the Cybertruck was apparently enough to assume the driver was some kind of Trump loyalist rolling through to provoke them.
Just when it seemed like the poor driver might be verbally tarred and feathered, he rolled down the back window. And sitting there, in all its innocent glory, was a fluffy dog, staring blankly at the chaos outside.
The energy in the crowd instantly shifted. After a brief moment of confusion, someone can be heard shouting, “We like the dog, though!”
That was enough to break the tension. The collective anger turned into scattered laughter, and the protest moved on, leaving the Cybertruck and its oblivious canine passenger to continue their journey in peace.
At the end of the day, this incident highlights just how ridiculous tribal politics have become. The man in the Cybertruck didn’t have a Trump flag, wasn’t revving his engine in defiance—he was just driving past. Yet, because of Musk’s association with Trump’s administration, that was enough for a crowd of strangers to assume he was their ideological enemy.
Reddit users were quick to call out the absurdity. One commenter summed it up perfectly:
“The mob sure aren’t getting any smarter. If Nike execs were to do some foul shit again, are we gonna boo everyone who’s wearing a pair of Jordans?”
Another joked that the whole thing looked like a setup, saying:
“Nobody took the bait. (Let’s drive a Tesla through an anti-MAGA protest, with a cute dog in the window). Fishing for a headline: ‘Anti-Elon crowd hurts a cute pup in a Cybertruck.’”
At least the dog got a pass. Maybe next time, the driver should let it take the wheel.
