A Major Canadian Union Is Calling For Pensions To Divest From Tesla

Apr. 22, 2025

Pensions should never be used to oppress and attack fellow workers across borders.

The Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE) is calling for public pension funds to divest from Tesla. To show solidarity with American workers facing attacks from Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the union says it’s time for the Canadian Public Sector Pension Investment Board (CPSIB) to dump its Tesla shares.

Despite holding no elected position in United States President Donald Trump’s administration, Musk and his DOGE are firing public servants with reckless abandon, placing the entire American federal public sector in jeopardy. Essential workers at the departments of education, health and human services, energy, veterans affairs and defense, as well as the Internal Revenue Service, the National Park Service, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have been summarily fired, furloughed, or pressured to accept dubious buyouts. 

In response, CAPE, which represents more than 27,000 Canadian federal public servants, is leading the charge to pull Canadian public pension investments from the controversial electric automobile maker. 

Readers may remember that Class Struggle interviewed CAPE president Nathan Prier in February 2024 about the union’s efforts to transform the public sector and create a fighting union. 

Prier also serves as a member of the Public Service Pension Advisory Committee, which makes recommendations to the minister of finance on matters related to the design and administration of Canadian public sector pensions. 

In its press release, CAPE writes: “Elon Musk, Tesla’s owner and the richest person on the planet, has been using his corporate influence to destroy government and public services in the U.S. He is using his unelected role heading up the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to dismantle essential public services and slash jobs without accountability.” 

“It is deeply concerning that Canadian public sector pension funds are being used to support a corporation whose owner is directly attacking the federal programs and workforce that deliver essential services for millions of ordinary Americans,” Prier said. “CAPE and its members stand firmly in solidarity with our siblings south of the border and against corporate interference, naked conflicts of interest, and indiscriminate job cuts that weaken critical public services ordinary Americans rely on.”

As of Dec. 31, 2024, the public sector pension fund held 690,063 shares of Tesla worth more than $278.6 million USD, according to public disclosures. Although this represents a small portion of CPSIB investment holdings, maintaining the stock nevertheless contributes to Musk’s wealth and thus to the right-wing political project he is helping to fund. The so-called DOGE and the Trump administration have already dismissed hundreds of thousands of American public servants, kneecapped the National Labor Relations Board and unilaterally torn up union contracts covering thousands of public employees.  

CAPE is also sending a warning about the potential of a DOGE-like attack on the Canadian public service under a new federal government headed by either Prime Minister Mark Carney or Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. 

“Canadians need much more than tax cuts, deregulation, and a race to the bottom to defend themselves against American attacks on our economy and sovereignty. A new federal government mandate should deliver for working people to get us through this crisis, and that will mean strong federal and provincial programs, such as EI and health care, backed by a strong public sector,” the union says. 

As Prier recently told Class Struggle, CAPE sees its call to dump Tesla’s stock as part of the long tradition of union divestment campaigns, such as those that targeted apartheid South Africa. As contradictory as it may be, union pension funds represent enormous pools of capital and wealth. Their investment decisions can therefore have huge influence on social, political and environmental issues. 

As CAPE further contends, Tesla is increasingly becoming a toxic asset. The CPSIB doubled its Tesla holdings following Trump’s election when the stock briefly surged in value, Prier told Class Struggle. This will likely prove to be a foolish decision. After a few months of Trump in office, the company’s stock has plummeted, losing about $134 million in value amid a growing cascade of pension fund divestments around the world. 

Whereas the EV maker was once widely considered an innovator in the transition to a greener economy — however dubious — Tesla’s value seems now to be inextricably tied to the tarnished image of its owner. Between 2020 and 2024, the company’s price per share surged from $28.50 to more than $431. However, in the first three months of this year, share prices sank by 34 per cent, with global car sales dropping by more than 8 per cent in March alone. 

In large part, Tesla’s declining fortunes seem to be a direct result of Musk’s political activities, as well as his disregard for workers’ rights around the world. 

CAPE is far from alone in its call for divestment. In fact, many European public pensions have already begun to unload their Tesla holdings, often following pressure from national labour movements. Concern over Musk’s governance of the electric vehicle manufacturer has also been a longstanding issue for European pension investors. 

The Dutch civil worker pension fund, Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP, for example, is selling its entire stake in Tesla. The fund sold 2.8 million shares valued at $585 million USD last September. The divestment was reportedly in response to a court case involving Musk’s exorbitant compensation package and the company’s poor governance structure. 

The Swedish fund, KPA Pension, which covers local government workers in the Scandinavian country, on the other hand, sold all of its Tesla stake in March, citing concerns over the company’s treatment of workers and disregard for union rights. Folksam, Sweden’s largest insurer, with assets of $80 billion USD, has also dumped its nearly $160 million USD Tesla stock for the same reasons. 

The EV maker has been embroiled in a now months-long battle with the Nordic labour movement over its refusal to recognize a union representing Tesla mechanics in Sweden and sign onto a sectoral union contract. In solidarity with the mechanics, unions of port and postal workers across the Nordics are refusing to handle Tesla products or service the company.

Through shareholder meetings, KPA Pension and Folksam both made efforts to encourage Tesla to respect workers’ rights in Sweden, without success. 

The Danish pension fund AkademikerPension has also sold off its small Tesla holdings, explicitly citing Musk’s political activity in the U.S. and Europe, along with the company’s violations of workers’ rights and poor governance practices. 

Norway’s largest pension fund, KLP, has threatened to dump Tesla and has co-ordinated with other pension funds and unions across the region in an attempt to pressure Musk and Tesla’s Scandinavian representatives to adhere to the Nordic labour relations model. 

In late March, Brunel Pension Partnership, a local government pension provider in the United Kingdom, became the largest institutional fund in Europe to divest from Tesla. The fund cited Musk’s political activities and the negative impact they’ve had on the carmaker’s brand. 

Pension funds in the U.S. as well are moving to either dump their Tesla stock or pursue legal action against the company. 

The office of the New York City comptroller, which oversees five public sector pension funds, is recommending that the City pursue legal action over the harm done to shareholders by Tesla’s recent losses. The NYC comptroller accuses Musk of making false statements about the amount of time he actually spends overseeing and managing the firm, linking this directly to Tesla’s falling stock value and thus the financial harm done to NYC public pension plan beneficiaries. Unions in the state, including the American Federation of Teachers, are supporting the legal action. Progressive city councils and New York state representatives are also pushing to divest public pensions from Tesla.

Perhaps most noteworthy, the National Institute for Workers’ Rights and LatinoJustice are pushing the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), the largest public pension fund in the U.S., to divest. A letter calling for divestment sent from these groups to the California state comptroller cites Musk’s attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and Tesla’s $3.2 million settlement with a Black former employee who accused the firm of racial discrimination. As of last June, CalPERS owned nearly 9.2 million Tesla shares worth more than $2 billion USD. 

As is clear, CAPE’s call for Canadian public pension funds to dump Tesla is part of an international movement. Unions and pension funds around the world could help reduce the wealth of the richest man on the planet and thus diminish his ability to attack workers, whether they are public servants in the U.S. or mechanics in Sweden. 

Pensions are the pooled resources of workers. They should never be used to oppress and attack fellow workers across borders. CAPE’s campaign for Tesla divestment should inspire unions across Canada to do the same.

[Top: Photo via CAPE.]