Fulop says N.J. pension fund should divest from Tesla

Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, a Democratic candidate for governor, called on the state to divest its pension fund from Tesla, the electric car company owned by Trump ally Elon Musk. 

Filings show New Jersey Pension Fund D owns about 1.06 million shares of Tesla, which at that point were valued at $426 million. Fulop shared a petition in an email to supporters and on X, the social media platform also owned by Musk. 

The mayor said the company doesn’t respect workers and isn’t worthy of the state’s investment. He also said the state should not invest in Musk’s companies while he threatens “Medicaid, Social Security, [and] school funding worth billions to our residents.”

“New Jersey has no business investing in companies that attack workers’ rights,” Fulop’s email said. “Tesla has a long track record of ignoring labor laws, punishing employees who try to organize, and cutting corners on worker safety. That is not a company our state should be supporting with public pension dollars.”

The petition does not show how many times it has been signed.

The value of Tesla’s stock has increased 61% from this point last year, but has decreased about 37% since the start of 2025.

Tesla has been the subject of protests as Democrats express their anger over Musk’s involvement in President Trump’s second term. Democratic Assemblywoman Heather Simmons (D-Glassboro) filed legislation looking to end an exception that allows Tesla to sell cars directly to customers rather than through dealerships.

Ire toward Musk has also made its way into the Democratic gubernatorial primary. NJ Advance Media reported in February that SpaceX’s PAC donated thousands of dollars to the congressional campaigns and leadership PACs of Sherrill and fellow gubernatorial candidate Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Tenafly); Gottheimer gave away the money, but Sherrill initially did not, saying that it had already been spent on her congressional race. (Sherrill’s gubernatorial campaign never received any Musk PAC money.)

Former Senate President Steve Sweeney, another gubernatorial opponent, accused Sherrill of hypocrisy for using the money. Sherrill’s campaign later said that the $31,500 that her congressional campaign and associated leadership PAC received from SpaceX has been given to the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, a network of food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters in New Jersey.