For a longer period, the conflict has been ongoing in Sweden between IF Metall and Elon Musk's electric car company due to Tesla's refusal to sign a collective agreement.
This has now led Folksam to act after the insurance company has repeatedly tried to influence the company, says Emilie Westholm, head of responsible ownership:
We have submitted proposals on two occasions, first at last year's annual meeting and now before this year's annual meeting, which has not yet been held. There, we have seen that Tesla is opposing our proposal being put to the vote, she says to TT.
Several actors
According to Emilie Westholm, Folksam has simultaneously tried to actively get other investors on board and has gathered a total of 14. Among these is the Danish Akademikerpension, which recently made the same decision as Folksam is now making.
For our part, we have seen that the opportunity to influence is no longer realistic and it is not worth trying. We always have patience and the goal is not to exclude, but in the end, we need to make such decisions.
Tesla and Elon Musk have been at the center of events lately, not primarily due to the labor conflict in Sweden, but due to their connection to President Donald Trump.
After expressing his support for Trump in connection with the presidential election, Musk has become a key figure in Trump's administration and leads, among other things, the efficiency organization Doge, which is intended to reduce state expenditures. He has also expressed sympathies for the German far-right party AFD.
It is not what is included in the decision-making basis, says Emilie Westholm when asked if Musk's connection to Trump or politics has had an impact on Folksam's decision.
Invested since 2013
Folksam began investing in Tesla in 2013 and owned 0.017 percent of the company's shares at the time of sale. The sale was worth approximately 1.6 billion kronor. According to Marcus Blomberg, head of capital management at Folksam, they are making a profit on the sale.
We view our investments long-term and see that we have received a good return over time as we have held the shares. If you look at the price development over the past twelve years, it is clear that it has been a very positive price development, he says.
