New York State: Divest from Tesla!
NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli
Tesla CEO Elon Musk donated $250 million to Trump's campaign to purchase – and tank – the federal government. He's slashing critical services. He's gutting federal agencies that protect our food and health. He has unprecedented access to government data. Many, many people will die because of Musk's actions; in fact, according to one study, over 150,000 people are estimated to have already died as a result of sudden cuts to USAID.
Since February, thousands of people have protested at Tesla showrooms across the country to push back against Musk’s government takeover. Musk’s toxic personal brand – complete with Nazi salutes and open fawning over far-right parties – is tanking Tesla’s stock. CNBC reported that Tesla shares dropped more than 28% this past February.
New York State’s pension fund owns approximately 3.5 million shares of Tesla stock. Tesla constitutes the seventh-largest share of our state pension fund’s holdings. New Yorkers do not wish to see our public funds invested in the company of the man leading an unconstitutional and devastating takeover of the government; nor do we wish to see our hard-earned retirement savings hurt by financially toxic Tesla stock.
NYS Comptroller Tom DiNapoli has the power to decide what our state pension invests in. He also has a fiduciary duty to make investment decisions that safeguard New Yorkers' retirement savings. Sign this petition to call on Comptroller DiNapoli to divest New York State’s pension fund from Tesla!
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To:
NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli
From:
[Your Name]
Dear Comptroller DiNapoli:
Since being installed as unelected Department of Governmental Efficiency head, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has gutted critical social services and federal agencies that protect our food, health, and environment. Thousands of people have lost their jobs, healthcare, and income for their families, while Musk makes millions of dollars each day from his government contracts. According to a study from Boston University, over 150,000 people are estimated to have already died as a result to Musk’s sudden slashing of USAID services, which previously protected tens of millions of people around the world from preventable disease and malnutrition. With unprecedented access to executive power and government data, including Americans’ private tax information, and the gutting of watchdog agencies, the richest man in the world now sits at the helm of federal decision-making after donating over $250 million to Trump’s campaign last year.
It is our understanding that New York State’s pension fund owns approximately 3.5 million shares of Tesla stock. New Yorkers do not wish to see our public funds invested in the company of the man leading an unconstitutional and devastating takeover of the US government.
Since February, thousands of people — including across New York State — have joined hundreds of protests at Tesla showrooms across the country to push back against Musk’s government takeover and his openly fascist ideologies. Musk’s increasingly toxic personal brand is significantly impacting Tesla valuation: CNBC reported that Tesla shares dropped more than 28% this past February. We understand Tesla to constitute the seventh-largest share of our state pension fund’s holdings, so this plunge in stock value is deeply concerning to us from a financial perspective in addition to an ethical one.
We wish to follow up on the letter from Senator Patricia Fahy and 22 other Senator, which urged you to divest from Tesla stock, to state our strong support for the multitude of reasons listed in that letter. We call on you now to perform your fiduciary duty and move swiftly to protect New Yorkers’ hard-earned savings from Tesla’s plunging valuation by divesting New York State’s pension fund from Tesla stock.