City Councilor Ji Siting proposed the city government to divest from Tesla.

New York City Council Finance Committee Chairman and Democratic City Councilman Justin Brannan, who is running for City Comptroller, recently stated that if elected, he will push for the city government to divest its holdings in Tesla stocks, amounting to approximately $1.2 billion.

Brannan believes that Musk has caused harm to New York City. For example, Musk once pressured the federal government to retract $80 million in federal emergency aid funds originally allocated to the city for housing immigrants, and also eliminated 7,000 positions at the Social Security Administration, which could endanger retired individuals relying on social security benefits.

Due to limited congressional and court actions against Musk, Brannan hopes to exert pressure on Tesla through financial means. However, experts point out that the divestment process is not straightforward. The City Comptroller cannot unilaterally decide on investment strategies and must reach a decision jointly with the boards of five pension funds.

The City Comptroller is one of the three city-level elected positions in New York City, responsible for auditing government accounts and managing the total of $274 billion in assets of the city’s five major pension funds, making it the third-largest public pension system in the United States.

As Musk cuts expenses drastically and launches withdrawal and downsizing offensives against federal agencies, the electric car manufacturer Tesla faces multiple crises. Recently, protests have erupted at Tesla dealerships across the United States, including in New York City, with many owners rushing to sell their vehicles, causing Tesla’s stock prices to continue fluctuating.