ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Lehigh County has become the first public pension fund in the United States to pause new purchases of Tesla stock in its managed investment accounts, county Controller Mark Pinsley said.
But the choice was more because of performance than politics — although the two are connected, Pinsley said in a release.
"With Tesla's earnings down 71% year-over-year and auto revenues falling 20%, our $500 million pension board prioritizes fiduciary responsibility."Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley
Lehigh County Pension Board voted 4-2 to instruct its investment manager to immediately cease all new investments in Tesla.
The vote also directed the investment manager to produce a report detailing how the pension fund can divest its passively managed funds from Tesla.
"I introduced this motion out of concern for CEO Elon Musk’s political public profile and its adverse impact on Tesla’s brand and Tesla’s market performance," Pinsley said in a release.
"With Tesla's earnings down 71% year-over-year and auto revenues falling 20%, our $500 million pension board prioritizes fiduciary responsibility.
"I believe this decision protects our retirees and may serve as a precedent for other institutional investors."
'The products, not the politics'
"This is the first pension fund to make a public decision in response to Elon Musk's nefarious activities with DOGE," Pinsley's release said.
"We owe it to our retirees and taxpayers to take a hard look at whether these are wise investments at this time."Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley
Tesla's profitability "has taken a sharp dive. We owe it to our retirees and taxpayers to take a hard look at whether these are wise investments at this time," it said.
Pinsley said that in January, the Dutch pension fund ABP sold its $600 million Tesla stake, citing long-term concerns about working conditions and governance.
In March, the $20 billion Danish pension fund, Akademiker, divested its shares due to reputational risks linked to Musk's political activity, he said.
In New York, state senators and state assembly members have called for the state to divest its $1 billion in shares from Tesla.
Pinsley said more customers are turning "to brands that better keep the spotlight on the product, not the politics."
'A politically motivated controller'
Lehigh County Commissioner Ron Beitler, who represents District 2, called Pinsley's announcement a "headline grab by a politically motivated controller."
In an email to LehighValleyNews.com, Beitler said based on three conversations with people who were in the room, the decision to stop buying Tesla stock was based solely on performance, not politics or political personalities.
In a Facebook post, Beitler also said he would not support Lehigh County making investment decisions on behalf of retirees based on anything other than financial responsibility.
"It doesn’t matter whether a stock is linked to liberal or conservative causes or personalities — I don't care," Beitler said.
"Our job is to make sound financial decisions. And we’ve done that. Even through tough markets, Lehigh County investments have delivered steady, reliable returns for our retirees.
"Sadly, our County Controller often politicizes issues. I’m proud that nearly our entire bi-partisan Board of Commissioners, Our Democrat County Executive, and at least 2 members of the retirement board I’ve spoken with today take a much more responsible non-partisan approach," he said.
Beitler said Lehigh County still holds indexed funds that tracks the S&P 500, including a small amount of Tesla stock, which accounts for less than 0.5% of the total fund, simply because it's part of that particular index.
"Bottom line: Our investment strategy is guided primarily by professional managers, NOT politicians looking for headlines. The financial well-being of our retirees is too important a responsibility to play politics with."
