It is time for City Council and the Pension Board to divest from Tesla
Philadelphia must follow the lead of Mark Pinsley, Lehigh County’s controller, and state controllers from nine states, and halt all current and future investments in Tesla stock, writes Anne Krawitz.
Every Saturday morning since March, friends and I head over to the Tesla dealership in Devon to stand, sometimes in the cold and rain, holding signs in protest of what Elon Musk and his minions at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have done — and are doing — to nonprofit funding in Philadelphia.
It is exhilarating to stand with hundreds of like-minded people, in opposition to the move-fast-and-break things bro culture of the newly created (and possibly unconstitutional) initiative to streamline federal bureaucracy.
The honks of support far outnumber the negative feedback — proof it’s not just members of the “radical left” who disapprove of the DOGE destruction. In the shadow of Musk’s unprecedented control of our government’s fiscal purse — a control Congress has cowardly relinquished — the people of Philadelphia, the birthplace of the Constitution, have a moral and historical imperative to do everything we can to keep our democracy strong.
It’s ridiculous to suggest that everyone demonstrating outside Tesla dealerships is getting paid to protest: We are there because it’s the right thing to do.
» READ MORE: Outside Tesla in the Philly suburbs, the green shoots of an American uprising | Will Bunch
Recently, Mark Pinsley, Lehigh County’s controller, pointed out in a Newsweek article the sound economic reasons why the county is, based on a number of factors, ceasing all financial support of Tesla.
Thanks to his foray into politics, those who study the automotive industry say Musk has hurt the Tesla brand. In Europe Tesla sales have dropped by 40% while sales of other electric cars are on the rise.
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Meanwhile, Americans have been stripped of millions in federal grants, money to support science, children, and the arts.
Musk says he has stepped away from the helm at DOGE, but the damage to his businesses and our city has been done.
Taking on the richest man in the world is an uphill battle, but, in 1776, so was taking down a king. Philadelphians must keep pushing back.
It is time for Philadelphia to follow the lead of Mark Pinsley and state controllers from nine states and divest from future dealings with Tesla. History proves economic sanctions are an effective tool that Philadelphians must use to defend the Constitution.
Just as global sanctions once played a role in prompting South Africa to change its cruel system of apartheid, institutional divestment signals reputational and financial risk, something no pension board should ignore.
On behalf of the Philadelphia Tesla Takedown Committee, I call on City Council and the Pension Board to halt all current and future investments in Tesla stocks, with the hope of creating momentum for divestment of statewide retirement plans.
As the people of this city once rose to cast off a distant king, we are called again to stand against the grip of billionaire power on the public purse.
I invite Philadelphians to join us at a local Tesla dealership and maintain pressure on the pension boards to do the right thing — divest.
Anne Krawitz is a hand bookbinder, small-business owner, writer, and political activist living in Germantown. She is a member of the Tesla Takedown Movement in Philadelphia.