Teachers Union Concerned About Tesla Stock Valuation: Is Elon Musk To Blame?

One of the largest teachers unions in the U.S. is concerned about the falling price of Tesla Inc TSLA stock as many teachers and retirees watch their investment in the electric vehicle giant plummet in value.

What Happened: The American Federation of Teachers has sent letters to asset management companies asking for honest valuations on Tesla stock with increased concerns on CEO Elon Musk's political push.

"What we're concerned about is these asset managers are saying nothing because they're scared," American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten told Yahoo Finance.

Weingarten said JPMorgan highlighted a disconnect between Tesla and the stock price. She's hoping more analysts share their honest opinions to make sure teachers and teacher retirees understand the fair value of the company.

"We're really concerned about teacher retirement benefits."

The AFT president said she's not an investment banker and is asking money managers if Tesla stock should be divested.

Asked if Musk's political push and potential dismantling of the Department of Education could be influencing the possible divestment of Tesla stock, Weingarten said it might be the opposite and trying to be neutral.

"You can't look at this through a political lens."

Weingarten said asset managers are afraid of Musk's influence and won't comment on the fair valuation of Tesla, which could make it too late to divest the stock if it is currently overvalued. This would make it hard to "create the replacement income" for investors if Tesla stock continues to fall.

The AFT represents 1.8 million members according to the interview.

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Why It's Important: The interview with Weingarten comes less than a month after she wrote a column criticizing Musk and President Donald Trump taking a "wrecking ball" to the Department of Education.

"I'm wondering if it's due to a lack of understanding of the department's vital functions, or because funding tax cuts for the wealthy is more important to them than building our future, or because they simply don't care about the collateral damage to our students, public schools and country," Weingarten wrote.

The push by Weingarten on Tesla's valuation comes as the EV company's sales fall significantly in Europe and California. A portion of the sales drop could be attributed to Musk's political agenda, which has consumers questioning their ownership of a Tesla vehicle.

A Brand Finance survey found that Musk’s comments may have hurt Tesla’s brand value.

Tesla fell to 36^th place in the 2025 rankings, down from 18^th place in 2024. The electric vehicle company had a brand value of $43 billion in the 2025 rankings, down 26% from $58.27 billion in 2024.

Tesla’s scores in categories such as "reputation," "recommendation" and "consideration" all fell from the prior year.

Europe's largest pension fund sold out of its stake in Tesla during the third quarter due to its thoughts on the $56 billion pay package for Musk.

Tesla insiders, like the company's Chair Robyn Denholm, have also been selling Tesla stock.

TSLA Price Action: Tesla stock is down 5.5% to $263.82 on Thursday versus a 52-week trading range of $138.80 to $488.54. Tesla stock is down 30.4% year-to-date in 2025.

Indeed, Tesla stock soared after Trump won the 2024 presidential election. The stock is now back to nearly where it was after the victory.

Tesla stock closed at $251.44 on Nov. 5 and opened for trading at $284.67 on Nov. 6 after Trump’s victory was announced.

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