Last week, Elon Musk kicked up a firestorm when he seemed to endorse an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely alleged the Jewish community is fostering “hatred against whites” and advocating for the influx of “hordes of minorities” into western nations on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. In response to the tweet on his social media platform, Musk wrote, “You have spoken the truth.”
The White House quickly condemned Musk’s post, describing it as an “abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate.” Additionally, several major companies, including Apple, Disney, IBM, NBC Universal, and Sony, and even the EU, suspended their advertising campaigns on X. Now, investors, such as the New York City public retirement funds, are demanding that Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk be reined in.
Brad Lander, the New York City comptroller, spearheaded the recent calls for action. He manages approximately $946 million worth of Tesla shares on behalf of the city’s retirement fund, representing just 0.1 percent of the company’s total shares.
“There’s a real risk that if he becomes perceived as antisemitic, that could have real reverberations for Tesla sales and value,” Lander told Reuters. He also pointed out that the company’s code of ethics prohibits bullying “at any level of the organization.”
Read: DOJ May Seek Criminal Charges Against Elon Musk Over Tesla Perks
Lander wrote in a letter to the chair of Tesla’s board, Robyn Denholm, on Monday that a failure to act would show that its code of ethics is “toothless.” He also described Musk’s post as “abhorrent.”
Lander isn’t the only one to condemn the post. Musk was accused of promoting “antisemitic and racist hate” by the White House. Meanwhile, Kristin Hull of Nia Impact Capital said that this is “the first time investors have had to deal with a CEO that doesn’t appear to be looking out for the best of their own brand.”
She asked the board to “step in” and come up with a solution. Among the suggestions made by Hull were “censure by the Board, demotion, re-assignment, suspension, or removal.”
While the directness of Musk’s comments here is noteworthy, it is not the first time one of his companies has been accused of racism. Tesla is facing several lawsuits for the treatment of its Black employees, and has been accused of punishing those who have stepped forward.
Meanwhile, the liberal watchdog Media Matters for America claimed that content promoting Nazism was showing up next to ads on X. Musk has denied this, and sued the company Monday.
Tesla’s board has shown itself unwilling to rein the CEO in, though. It has stood by as Musk has been found guilty of illegal anti-union activity, and has received penalties from the FTC for misleading investors. As the owner of more than 20 percent of Tesla’s stock, even Lander admits that may make the board unwilling to hold him accountable.
