Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Tuesday that his role at the White House DOGE office will be secondary as he devotes more time to the EV company.
Some large Tesla stakeholders and state officials criticizing the company’s leadership told Business Insider that they are still concerned.
“The company’s disappointing earnings were proof that his lack of focus has indeed hurt the company and has permanently damaged the brand value of Tesla,” Michael Frerichs, treasurer for the state of Illinois, said in a statement on Wednesday to Business Insider. “It is helpful to hear that Mr. Musk may actually do his job as Executive of Tesla, but we cannot miss the fact that he has caused long-term damage to this company.”
Frerichs is one of seven state treasurers who sent a letter on April 17 demanding that Tesla’s board chair, Robyn Denholm, ensure that Musk devotes “adequate time to the company,” given Tesla’s recent performance.
Depending on the state, treasurers may participate in managing their state’s pension funds, which could contain positions in Tesla.
“The company’s success or setbacks have significant implications for workers, regional industries, and innovation ecosystems in our states,” the letter, which was signed by seven state treasurers and the California comptroller, said.
Tesla, Musk, and Denholm did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
They aren’t the only large stakeholders who have expressed concern.
Even before his role with the DOGE office, some institutional shareholders had urged Musk to pay more attention to Tesla because they were concerned that the chief executive was juggling too many hats with his Twitter acquisition.
In May last year, a group of institutional shareholders submitted a letter to the SEC demanding that Musk and the Tesla board stay more vigilant of the company’s long-term growth.
Those criticisms have only grown since then.
Retail traders and even the most bullish analysts have urged Musk to stay on track as Tesla continued to miss expectations.
Tesla reported in its latest first-quarter earnings that total revenue fell 9% from the same period last year. The company’s stock dropped 41% on Wednesday from its peak in January.
Business Insider contacted the state treasurers who signed the April 17 letter and several institutional shareholders who previously expressed concerns about Tesla’s governance.
Here’s what they said.
Brad Lander, New York City Comptroller
The New York City Comptroller oversees the city’s five public pension funds and has been vocal about his misgivings on Musk’s leadership.
Last year, he joined the coalition of shareholders who called to vote against Musk’s multibillion-dollar pay package. In April, Lander urged the Adams Administration and the New York City Law Department to pursue a securities lawsuit against Tesla.
“Elon Musk’s pledge is far too little, too late,” Oluwatona Campbell, a spokesperson for the comptroller’s office, told BI in an email. “Tesla shareholders deserve a full-time CEO dedicated to leading the company, not a part-time lackey for an authoritarian climate denier. Musk must be accountable to Tesla’s shareholders and the millions of current and future customers who believe in a green transition.”
The comptroller’s office said in April that the city’s five public pension systems held more than 3 million Tesla shares worth about $1.26 billion on December 31, 2024. As of March 28, the shares were worth $831 million, according to the office.
Dave Young, Colorado State Treasurer
Young told BI in an interview that Tuesday’s earnings showed the company underperforming expectations. He said he was concerned about Musk’s insistence on staying on DOGE for at least the remainder of the month.
“I think that’s haphazard leadership and it endangers the market and the stability of the government at the same time,” said Young, one of the state treasurers who signed the April 17 letter.
Young added that Musk should “step back now” from the White House office. He said he was speaking solely in his official capacity as state treasurer and not as a fiduciary to the state.
Colorado state employees could have some exposure to Tesla since the state’s Public Employees’ Retirement Association (PERA) offers a large-cap stock fund with holdings in major US companies, including 2.3% of its holdings in Tesla.
PERA’s reporting as of December 2024 showed that the fund held about $2.8 billion in assets under management, which means the fund’s position in Tesla could be around $64.4 million as of Wednesday.
Deborah Goldberg, Massachusetts State Treasurer
“Yesterday’s earnings call from Tesla offered plenty of promises, but what the American people need is performance,” Goldberg, who signed the April 17 letter, said in a statement to BI. “It is time for the board to step up and ensure this company delivers and realizes its full potential. We will be watching for meaningful progress over time, not just ambitious words.”
Goldberg sits on the nine-member board of the Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management, which oversees the state’s pension benefits. A spokesperson told BI that the Pension Reserves Investment Trust Fund has about $315 million of passive exposure to Tesla stock, given its holdings in the S&P 500.
Erick Russell, Connecticut State Treasurer
Russell signed the April 17 letter and, as the principal fiduciary of the state’s Retirement Plans and Trust Funds, told BI, “Musk has put Tesla employees, customers, and investors at financial risk.”
“While we are cautiously optimistic about the market’s positive response to Elon Musk’s pledge to refocus on his day job, we await concrete actions and will ultimately judge him on performance. The reputational damage he has caused Tesla may never fully be repaired, and his efforts to shift blame onto protesters and recast his role in DOGE as part of his fiduciary responsibility to Tesla are misleading diversions that risk further alienating customers.”
A spokesperson for the treasurer’s office said Tesla represents about $230 million in passive investments of the state’s Retirement Plans and Trust Funds, which have about $60 billion in assets under management.
Joakim Embu, portfolio manager of KLP
KLP, a Norway-based pension company that holds about 900,000 shares of Tesla, was one of the institutional shareholders that criticized Musk’s pay package.
In a statement to BI, Embu said Musk may have breached his fiduciary duty as Tesla’s CEO by prioritizing personal interests over the company’s best interests.
“His involvement with DOGE appears to offer little strategic value to Tesla, as his association with the Trump administration has arguably harmed Tesla’s brand image and sales outlook,” he said.
Michael Frerichs, Illinois State Treasurer
Frerichs, who joined the group of state treasurers criticizing Tesla’s leadership in the April 17 letter, told BI he was “glad” that Musk committed to spending more time on his company and looks forward to hearing more details to repair the “damage he has done.”
“Tesla’s earnings report was a testament to what happens when a CEO does not have his eye on the ball,” he said in an email, adding that “we can call the last three months what it is — a failure by Elon Musk to the duty and care that all shareholders expect from any CEO.”
A spokesperson for Frerichs’ office said the treasurer doesn’t manage the sprawling network of pension funds in the state.
Mike Pellicciotti, Washington Treasurer
Pellicciotti told BI in a statement that “the board of Tesla needs to take seriously the severe damage their CEO is doing to the company’s performance, brand, and commitment to bringing needed supply and innovation to the EV market.”
“If Musk’s plan is to be a part time CEO and part time Trump surrogate, I’m far from convinced there is a path to recovery, let alone success, in either endeavor,” he said.
As treasurer, Pellicciotti is a member of the Washington State Investment Board, which manages the state’s public retirement and trust funds. However, he does not speak on behalf of the board.
As of December 31, the WSIB’s top 10 holdings included Tesla at 1% of the $45 billion in assets under management, or roughly $450 million.
Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers
In February, the American Federation of Teachers — a group of trustees who serve on public pension funds holding positions on Tesla stock — urged major asset managers like BlackRock and Vanguard to review their investments in the EV company, as the stock plunged earlier this year.
The group said the pension funds amount to about $4 trillion, including a “material amount” invested in Tesla shares.
In a statement to BI, Weingarten said that Tesla’s first-quarter earnings were “disastrous” but expected.
“On the earnings call, Elon Musk dismissed the problems facing his company and claimed real full self-driving is still just around the corner,” Weingarten said. “Tesla continues to be a huge risk to pension portfolios and retirement security. What will Tesla’s board do to address this?”
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