Elon Musk’s decision to set up a new political party is already proving a headache for Tesla.
James Fishback, CEO of investment firm Azoria, said on Sunday that the firm — which has stated its opposition to DEI targets and “woke” companies — will postpone its planned public listing of a Tesla ETF, which would invest in the EV giant’s shares and options.
In a post on X, Fishback, who previously worked as an outside advisor to DOGE, said that the billionaire had “gone too far” with his latest plan to set up the “America Party” and take on both Republicans and Democrats.
Fishback, who included a letter to Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm in his X post, added that the new party “creates a conflict” with Musk’s responsibilities as CEO of Tesla and “actively undermines” the company’s mission.
“I encourage the Board to meet immediately and ask Elon to clarify his political ambitions and evaluate whether they are compatible with his full-time obligations to Tesla as CEO,” said Fishback.
Tesla’s share price was down as much as 7% premarket on Monday, as investors expressed unease over Musk’s decision to dive back into politics.
Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives wrote in a Sunday note that investors were feeling a “sense of exhaustion” over Musk’s new political party.
The longtime Tesla bear said that Musk, who told investors in April that he would step back from his role in the Trump administration to focus on the beleaguered EV maker, was going in “exactly the opposition direction” to what Tesla shareholders wanted.
Ives also warned that the billionaire’s extremely public falling out with Trump could create additional hurdles for Tesla in the future.
Other investors expressed similar frustrations. “Waymo has solved autonomous driving. Meanwhile, Elon is starting a new political party,” wrote Tesla investor and regular Musk critic Ross Gerber on X.
An outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump, Fishback told Business Insider in January he had served as an outside advisor to DOGE, and proposed the idea of a “DOGE dividend” earlier this year.
The investment banker, who has said that he owns Tesla stock and that the EV giant is Azoria’s largest position, also accused Musk of being fixated on “sabotaging President Trump” and said the Tesla CEO was an “absolute failure” at DOGE in a series of posts on X.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment sent outside normal working hours.
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