Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
NYC pensions have more than $1B in Elon Musk’s Tesla. Justin Brannan wants to divest.
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Mar 25, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Mar 25, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
As Elon Musk slashes spending and targets federal agencies, his once popular electric carmaker Tesla is taking a beating. Protests have erupted at dealerships across the country, including in New York City; Tesla owners are selling off their cars and the stock price is plummeting.
Justin Brannan, a Democratic City Council member who’s running for city comptroller, is vowing to aim another dagger at the company if elected — by leading an effort to have the city pensions divest completely from Tesla holdings worth an estimated $1.2 billion.
“Elon Musk is coming for us,” Brannan told Gothamist in an interview. “Why should we be investing retirees’ hard-earned pension funds in a guy who’s already shown that he’s got New York City in the crosshairs?”
Brannan is facing off against Mark Levine, the Manhattan borough president, in what is expected to be a competitive Democratic primary in June. One of three citywide elected positions, the comptroller performs audits of city agencies and serves as the custodian for five public pension systems valued at over $274 billion — the third largest pension system in the country.
Brannan, who chairs the council’s finance committee, said Musk had already hurt the city. At the urging of the billionaire Trump ally, the government last month clawed back $80 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funding meant to cover housing costs for migrants.
Brannan also cited the recent order to cut 7,000 jobs from the Social Security Administration. At the end of the month, the agency plans to eliminate phone service for those who want to apply for or make changes to their benefits, which Brannan argued would endanger the financial security of tens of thousands of city retirees who rely on Social Security payments.
With little relief coming from Congress and limited success in the federal judiciary, opponents of Musk’s actions have turned to financial pressure on his electric car company. Brannan pointed to Tesla’s volatile stock price, which has fallen nearly 40% this year but experienced a surge on Monday amid news that the Trump administration may scale back tariffs.
James Parrott, a veteran city budget and economy expert, said the proposal was a good idea given the damaging effects of Musk’s cost-cutting policies, which he called an “existential threat to the American economy.”
He said the city comptroller’s office has a history of putting pressure on companies that conflict with the city’s values. In the mid-1980s, former City Comptroller Harrison Goldin oversaw the pension funds’ divestment from companies with business in South Africa to support the city’s anti-apartheid stance. More recently, the city has dropped companies involved in the fossil fuel business, a policy that began in 2018 under Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Comptroller Scott Stringer.
Brannan’s proposal could signal a broader strategy among anti-Trump activists. A group of state lawmakers earlier this month called on the state comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, to remove Tesla investments from the state pension fund.
Outside the U.S., a $20 billion Danish pension fund this month announced a divestment from Tesla over labor issues as well as Musk’s behavior.
However, the process of divesting is complicated, according to Parrott. Fossil-fuel divestment has taken the city years, with $3 billion divested as of late 2021.
For one thing, the comptroller cannot unilaterally make investment or divestment decisions, but instead shares authority with the five pension boards.
The comptroller “can try to educate and persuade the board but he can’t do it on his own,” Parrott said.
It’s also unclear how much of Tesla is owned as individual stocks or in funds, which contain a basket of securities.
But Parrott said he did not think divestment would be an insurmountable task. He said the comptroller and pension boards could begin the process by asking their investment managers to identify how much Tesla it owns and how divestment would work.
Similar to the anti-apartheid divestment, he said, “It takes a level of persistence to make it pay off.”
Tagged
new york city
donald trump
Politics
Elizabeth Kim
Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Mamdani opts not to define antisemitism in report to combat Jewish hate crimes
The decision avoids a hotly debated issue over whether certain kinds of criticisms of Israel constitute antisemitism.
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Sep 29, 2026 at 11:36 a.m. ET
Modified Sep 29, 2026 at 12:55 p.m. ET
Police are still investigating bike crash that killed dad of 2 in Central Park
The family is raising money for the wife and two daughters he leaves behind.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
News
Police are still investigating bike crash that killed dad of 2 in Central Park
The family is raising money for the wife and two daughters he leaves behind.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
NYC has a plan to stop homeless people from cycling between hospitals and the streets
By
Karen Yi
Early Addition: Billy Joel is auctioning off 70 of his motorcycles
By
James Ramsay
Man dragged to death by subway in Brooklyn after getting caught on closing doors
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .