Armed Intruder Found in Sheryl Crow's Barn After Tesla^® Protest

Sheryl Crow, 2017. Photo by Raph_PH under CC BY 2.0.

It started with a car and a cause. It ended with a man in her barn holding a gun.

Sheryl Crow's recent decision to protest Elon Musk by selling her Tesla^® may have come from a place of principle — but what followed, she said, shook her sense of safety at its core.

Crow's Protest Goes Viral

In February, Crow posted a video to Instagram of her black Tesla being towed from her Nashville home. According to Men's Journal, she wrote, "My parents always said ... you are who you hang out with. There comes a time when you have to decide who you are willing to align with. So long Tesla."

The protest was aimed directly at Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and senior advisor to the Department of Government Efficiency under President Trump. Musk had recently criticized NPR, which some interpreted as a threat to its funding. Crow pledged to donate all proceeds from the Tesla sale to the network in response.

Armed Man Breaks Into Her Property

What Crow didn't expect, she later said, was how personal — and frightening — the response would become.

Speaking to Variety for its Power of Women Nashville issue, the Grammy winner revealed that an armed man had entered the barn on her remote, 50-acre property in Tennessee. "There was a moment where I actually really felt very afraid: A man got on my property, in my barn, who was armed," she told Variety. "It doesn't feel safe when you're dealing with people who are so committed."

Crow did not release further details about the intruder or whether any arrest was made but made it clear the incident left her feeling deeply unsettled.

'Fighting for My Kids'

This isn't the first time Crow's political statements have drawn controversy. In the 1990s, her album was banned from Walmart stores after she criticized the company for selling guns. But now, she said, the stakes feel higher.

"When I came out against Walmart carrying guns (in a 1996 song), not everybody was armed — and certainly I didn't live in Tennessee, where everybody is armed," Crow told Variety.

As a mother to two adopted sons, ages 18 and 15, Crow said she felt obligated to speak out. "I feel like I'm fighting for my kids. Also, that's the way I was raised," she said, according to Variety. "There have been times when it hasn't really been fun, but I follow my Atticus Finch dad; I'm very similar to him if I see something that seems unfair, you know?"

Crow Continues to Fight

Crow moved to Nashville from Los Angeles in 2007. Though she loves the city, she admits it's not always easy. According to USA Today, she shared, "Tennessee is a hard place for me. I mean, I struggle. I call my representatives (in Congress) every single morning — Andy Ogles and Marsha Blackburn hear from me every day — because we have to stand up and be vocal and fight for the future for our kids."

Crow's stand may have started with a car, but it turned into a sobering reminder of the risks that come with speaking out. What was meant as a symbolic protest ignited a firestorm that reached all the way to her doorstep — literally. Still, she says she won't back down, not when the fight feels personal and the stakes are her children's future.

References: Sheryl Crow says armed man broke onto her Nashville property after she sold her Tesla to protest Elon Musk | Sheryl Crow reveals an armed man broke onto her property after selling Tesla | Sheryl Crow Announces Terrifying Home Invasion News | Sheryl Crow on Settling Down but Still Fighting the Power in Nashville