Tesla dealership in Washington, D.C. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM
On Tuesday, American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten told money managers to safeguard their retirement assets and “urgently review their current holdings” in struggling electric-car maker Tesla, in a letter to more than 75 state and city chief fiduciary officers who oversee most major U.S. public pension funds.
Given the steep plunge in Tesla shares this year due to extreme pushback from Tesla CEO
Elon Musk’s role as “special government employee” in the Trump administration’s DOGE unit – and the destruction of Tesla vehicles nationwide – Weingarten requests 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%,” she said.
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The “precipitous drop in Tesla sales increases the retirement risk to plans that millions of nurses, teachers and other workers are invested in,” said Weingarten. “Our members’ right to retire with dignity and grace after decades of service to families and communities is paramount. It’s why we were bitterly disappointed in the initial lack of response from asset managers, and why today we are urgently asking chief fiduciaries to demand additional and immediate clarity.”
In February, Weingarten wrote to BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street, T. Rowe Price, Fidelity and TIAA, 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.
Pension fiduciaries are charged with preserving retirement security for millions of AFT members, including teachers, nurses and other workers. Tesla stock makes up a material portion of those funds’ investments. So the AFT’s letter requests that state treasurers and comptrollers ask asset managers to assess their Tesla holdings and demand the company share information about billions in outstanding corporate loans partly secured by embattled CEO Elon Musk’s 13% stake in the company.
“As of 2024, Musk had pledged more than 230 million shares as collateral for unspecified loans,” read the letter, with “no disclosure as to the amount of the loans, or at what stock price Musk would face a margin call.”
Weingarten’s letter was sent to state treasurers and city comptrollers across the country, including the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, the Teachers’ Retirement System of the City of New York and the Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund.
Related: Elon Musk’s DOGE targets CMS in $1T spending overhaul, sparking legal battle
“AFT President Randi Weingarten is right,” said New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, in a statement. “Elon Musk’s absentee leadership at Tesla is failing workers and investors … I stand with President Weingarten in demanding full transparency from Tesla about these loans and will continue fighting to hold the company accountable to protect investors.”
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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.
