Elon Musk may be (allegedly) stepping back from DOGE, but the damage has been done. As the largest individual donor in the 2024 election cycle, Musk contributed $291 million to support Trump and Republican candidates. And he’s not stopping—in just the first few months of 2025, his PACs poured over $6.2 million into Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race.
For those of us whose interaction with the stock market is limited to our 401(k)s and IRAs, you’ve likely heard advice from people like Warren Buffett to invest in low-cost S&P 500 index funds, such as exchange-traded and mutual funds.
These funds are transparent about their holdings, so I recently reviewed the allocation percentages. What I found gave me pause.
For every $1,000 invested in an S&P 500 fund, $15-20 automatically goes to Tesla.
I’m sure we could debate the ethics of many companies in the index, but Tesla stands apart—its CEO has personally spent hundreds of millions to influence our government and elections in unprecedented ways.
My retirement savings, meant to secure my future, would first support another’s political ambitions. In following sound financial advice, I would betray my own principles.
Everyone wants a well-funded retirement. No one wants to fund the richest man in the world.
This project grew from conversations with people in my community, including my parents who are approaching retirement. We’re everyday Americans with diverse political views, yet we found agreement on this particular issue. We’re not political operatives—we’re just regular people concerned about our futures.
There are three companies that manage millions of ordinary people’s capital, channeled through mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, often via default retirement-plan options.
- Vanguard
- BlackRock
- State Street Corporation
These three are among the world’s largest asset managers, and play a significant role in shaping global finances.They control a combined 12.57% of Tesla stock.
Every dollar invested in Tesla—whether through direct stock purchases or bundled in mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs)—helps to sustain Tesla’s stock price, indirectly enriching Musk. As Tesla’s largest shareholder, Musk leverages his stock holdings to access vast sums of cash without selling shares, using a strategy common among billionaires: securities-based lending.
We may have signed up to invest in the stock market in order to retire, but none of us signed up to fund Musk’s political ambitions.
We’re done being silent shareholders. Our retirement savings shouldn’t be used to finance the economic tyranny of billionaires. We need an S&P 500 fund that excludes Tesla.
We can’t create these funds on our own, but if enough of us speak up, these financial institutions will have to listen. They respond to demand—that’s capitalism, right?
If you’re with us, here’s what we can do:
- Email asset managers here.
- Submit a request via asset managers’ customer portals here.
- Call asset managers and brokerage companies here.
We’ve pulled together resources at https://divestfromtesla.com/
Connect with others who feel the same way:
Instagram: u/divestfromtesla
BlueSky: u/divestfromtesla.bsky.social
Email: [email protected]
This is about having a say in how our money is used. We believe we deserve that choice. If you feel the same, we’d love to hear from you.
Originally Posted By u/Beneficial_Pattern_5 At 2025-04-03 09:34:02 AM | Source
There’s a way to do that
