While Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) celebrated after Tesla’s stock tumbled, his constituents could see financial losses if Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company experiences a serious downturn.
Walz told a crowd on Tuesday that he enjoyed checking to see how Tesla’s stock is doing because seeing the stock fall gives him “a little boost during the day.”
Minnesotans’ retirement funds are not getting a boost as the Tesla stock price has dropped by over 50% since December, since the state holds well over 1 million shares according to the latest records.
In June 2024, the Minnesota State Board of Investments released a report showing the state held 1.6 million shares of Tesla stock in its retirement fund. Minnesota also held over 211,000 shares of Tesla in its non-retirement fund, records show.
Venture capitalist Kevin O’Leary, known for starring on Shark Tank, raised concerns that Walz’s anti-Tesla rhetoric undermines Minnesota’s pension plan.
“That poor guy didn’t check his portfolio and his own pension plan for the state. It’s beyond stupid what he did,” O’Leary said during a CNN panel this week. “What’s the matter with that guy? He doesn’t check the well-being of his own constituents.”
Kevin O’Leary blasts “Bozo” Tim Walz over rooting for Tesla stock to crash — while his state’s pension plan owns it:
“That poor guy didn’t check his portfolio and his own pension plan for his state. It’s beyond stupid what he did.”
“I mean, what’s the matter with that guy? He… pic.twitter.com/WPvT2OCTUX
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) March 20, 2025
Walz experienced a bruising loss as former Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate during the presidential election last year. However, the governor has reentered the spotlight in recent weeks through a round of high-profile interviews and town halls, reviving speculation that he could be a potential contender for the 2028 presidential election — something he has refused to rule out.
Walz’s comments about Tesla come as pension fund managers in states like Illinois have warned that the electric vehicle company’s stock decline could impact retirement funds in states holding shares.
“This is a real cost to real people,” Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs told ABC News. “We’re talking about firefighters, police officers, nurses who work in public. Their retirement dollars are at stake.”
In New York, Democrats are pushing the state’s pension fund to divest from Tesla, citing volatile stock prices.
Twenty-three state senators sent a letter last week to New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, pressuring him to divest from 3.5 million Tesla shares owned by the state’s pension fund.
“New York’s pension fund is one of the best-managed in the nation, and we must ensure that it remains financially sound for the more than one million retirees and beneficiaries who depend on it,” Democratic state Senator Patricia Fahy said in a press release. “Given Tesla’s ongoing volatility and significant profit decline, we should seriously evaluate the risks of continued investment and its impact on the pension fund’s stability. Beginning to responsibly divest from Tesla is a prudent step to protect the long-term stability of the fund and ensure that we are making responsible financial decisions on behalf of New York’s public employees and retirees and financial future.”
Vanguard and BlackRock, both carrying heavy weight in the U.S. retirement market, could also stand to lose should Tesla experience continued losses.
TIM WALZ BECOMES DEMOCRATIC LEADERS’ BIGGEST CRITIC TO REMAKE HIMSELF
Vanguard Group is Tesla’s second-largest shareholder, behind Musk, owning over 240 million shares. The company’s Target Retirement Funds are used by more people, over 15 million, than any other.
Over half of the $11.6 trillion in assets BlackRock manages fall under retirement products. The company holds over 200 million shares of Tesla stock.
