The Tesla board has managed to avoid what could have been a tricky investor vote on requiring political neutrality among executives, after the Securities and Exchange Commission ruled the electric vehicle manufacturer could exclude a shareholder proposal on the matter from its 2025 annual materials, according to a copy of the SEC’s letter obtained by Fortune.
The proposal was submitted by Jay Butera, 67, a staunch climate advocate and investor who has held shares in Tesla since the company’s 2010 IPO. Butera’s neutrality proposal, if approved by shareholders, would have prohibited Tesla leadership from making political statements, endorsements, or contributions in support or opposition to political parties or candidates. Butera, a retired entrepreneur who still holds millions of dollars’ worth of Tesla stock, is a die-hard renewable energy supporter and previously lobbied for the creation of the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus in the House of Representatives in 2016.
