03/01/2025
Ugh, is this the monster lady? Hide the children.
ttps://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/teachers-union-leader-aims-to-hit-elon-musk-where-it-hurts/ar-AA1A3JUk?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=f6884005d5524fb3971faca6a7fb696a&ei=18
Elon Musk Describes DOGE As The US ‘Tech Support’.
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the nation’s second-largest teacher’s labor union, is looking to hit billionaire Elon Musk in his pocketbook by requesting major asset managers to review Tesla‘s valuation, citing a drastic drop in its stock price.
Newsweek reached out to Tesla and BlackRock by email on Saturday afternoon for comment.
Why It Matters
Tesla hit a peak valuation of $479.86 per share on December 17, 2024, and as of the end of February the stock has dropped to $293.04 per share—a roughly 22.74 percent drop since January 1’s valuation. December’s stock price was the most the stock has ever been worth, with its previous peak hitting $407.36 per share on November 5, 2021.
In contrast, the Nasdaq Composite value started the year at $19,280.79 and currently sits at $18,847.28—a roughly 2.25 percent drop and slight further fall off from when AFT issued its request earlier this week.
Tesla over the past year has suffered a number of public image knocks, partially deriving from a recall of some 239,000 vehicles earlier this year due to a rearview image display issue, partially due to a drop in sales in Europe in January, and partially due to concerns over CEO Musk’s role in the Trump administration.
Musk’s actions since President Donald Trump‘s second inauguration have prompted protests against Tesla in some quarters, including a case in Germany in which protesters projected Musk making his controversial gesture that many accused of being a Nazi salute.
In January, Muskwrote on X, formerly Twitter, about his critics: “Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired.”
Randi Weingarten, President American Federation of Teachers, speaks during a press conference condemning Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his alleged role in insurance costs skyrocketing for Floridians on May 03, 2023 Tamarac, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images© Joe Raedle/Getty Images
What To Know
AFT President Randi Weingarten, who has led the union since 2008 following a decade as the president of the United Federation of Teachers in New York, issued the request on Thursday to BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street, T. Rowe Price, Fidelity and TIAA.
The union urged the companies to take “immediate action to review investments in Tesla, a company in apparent severe decline and at grave risk of further devaluation.” Union members have deferred wages invested in pension funds with these companies that total an estimated $4 trillion and include “a material amount of the automaker’s shares.”
The AFT argued that Tesla’s stock has “plunged” by 23 percent in 2025 while the Nasdaq has dropped by only about 1.3 percent in that time.
Weingarten told Reuters this week that the union has concerns that asset managers are overlooking the company’s problems due to Musk’s influential role in the Trump administration.
“Our concern is that because of the politics, and the proximity Mr. Musk has to Mr. Trump, they are standing down on this rather than doing their jobs,” Weingarten said.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a White House task force led by Musk, has been aggressively slashing the federal workforce and restructuring contracts in an attempt to cut federal spending.
AFT press secretary Andrew Crook told Newsweek in an email response to a request for comment that the union as of Saturday had heard no response from any of the companies and called Tesla’s stock price “divorced from the fundamentals per JP Morgan,” which he said had prompted the letter to asset managers.
What People Are Saying
American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten wrote on X on Thursday morning: “Every worker deserves a safe a secure retirement. Just this week we saw Tesla stock continue to sink faster than a Cybertruck in quicksand. So we’re asking asset managers to honestly look at their investments in Tesla.”
AFT press secretary Andrew Crook told Newsweek on Saturday: “The Tesla stock price is divorced from the fundamentals per JP Morgan, which was part of the impetus for the letter to asset managers.”
What Happens Next?
The asset managers have yet to respond, and it remains unclear what impact any single valuation assessment would have on the overall stock price of Tesla.
kommonsentsjane
kommonsentsjane 