An individual investor and longtime climate-change advocate is asking the Tesla board to finally address the impact of politics on the $1 trillion electric vehicle and robotics manufacturer—by just staying out of it.
Jay Butera, 67, of Pennsylvania, submitted a shareholder proposal to the board asking Tesla to adopt a policy of political neutrality that would prohibit executives and company leaders from making statements, endorsements, contributions and taking other visible actions in support or opposition to political parties or candidates. Butera, a retired entrepreneur, is deeply passionate about renewable energy and founded the bipartisan climate solutions caucus in 2016. He’s also been an investor in Tesla since the company’s IPO in 2010. In his view, Tesla’s mission of widespread electric transportation and deployment of renewable energy sources is of paramount importance. Butera doesn’t want to see “the day-to-day politics of mankind get in the way of that.”
