Tesla logo displayed on the exterior wall of the Tesla Factory in Fremont, CA.
Given the steep plunge in Tesla shares this year, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) president Randi Weingarten urged money managers in early April to “safeguard retirement assets” and urgently review their current holdings in electric car maker Tesla, which has been a target of political protests amid growing animosity for the brand.
Now the Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE), one of the largest federal public sector unions in Canada, has called on the Public Sector Pension Investment Board and all pension funds in Canada to dump their holdings of Elon Musk’s auto company. According to public disclosures, as of December 31, 2024, the pension fund held 690,063 shares of Tesla, valued at $278 million. Over the past several weeks, Tesla stock has fallen dramatically in value.
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Elon Musk, Tesla’s owner, “is using his unelected role heading up the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to dismantle essential public services and slash jobs without accountability,” said CAPE in a statement.
“It is deeply concerning that Canadian public-sector pension funds are being used to support a corporation whose owner is directly attacking the federal programs and workforce that deliver essential services for millions of ordinary Americans,” said CAPE president and Public Service Pension Advisory Committee member Nathan Prier. “CAPE and its members stand firmly in solidarity with our siblings south of the border and against corporate interference, naked conflicts of interest, and indiscriminate job cuts that weaken critical public services ordinary Americans rely on.”
Given the steep plunge in Tesla shares this year due to extreme pushback against Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s role as a “special government employee” in the Trump administration’s DOGE unit—and the destruction of Tesla vehicles nationwide—Weingarten, in a letter sent to more than 75 state and city chief fiduciary officers, requested that state treasurers and comptrollers ask asset managers to assess their Tesla holdings. “Consequently, Tesla’s sales numbers for Q1/2025 are shaping up to be abysmal, with multiple major markets reporting declines north of 40 percent,” she said. Also, Weingarten wrote to BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street, T. Rowe Price, Fidelity, and TIAA in February, warning that her members’ exposure to tens of billions of dollars in Tesla stock in their portfolios presented an unacceptable retirement risk. AFT members participate in pension funds totaling an estimated $4 trillion.
“Divesting from Tesla would send a clear and principled message,” said CAPE. “Canadian public sector workers and taxpayers will not support companies that put profit over public service, particularly when the administration those companies support is threatening to annex Canada.”
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From: BenefitsPRO
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Lynn Cavanaugh
Lynn Varacalli Cavanaugh is Senior Editor, Retirement at BenefitsPRO. Prior, she was editor-in-chief of the What's New in Benefits & Compensation newsletter. She has worked for major firms in the employee benefits space, Vanguard and Willis Towers Watson, as well as top media companies, including Condé Nast and American Media.
