Teachers, retirees press CalSTRS to probe and divest from Tesla and firms tied to Gaza

Public commenters filled the CalSTRS Investment Committee’s public comment period to press the pension fund to investigate and sell certain holdings, focusing sharply on Tesla and a broad list of companies and financial instruments they said are tied to violence in Gaza.

Edward Hasbrook, a San Francisco resident and spouse of a retired teacher, told the committee he had been told by staff that they “have never made any attempt to assess the valuation or risk of investing in Tesla” and urged the board to direct staff to perform company‑level risk reviews for top holdings. “You haven't directed them to do it yet,” Hasbrook said, urging a semiannual risk review of the fund’s 20 largest stock positions.

Multiple speakers backed Hasbrook’s request with financial and moral arguments. Mary Jo Walker, a retired city finance director, said CalSTRS should “sell its 4,500,000 shares of Tesla or at a minimum . . . analyze it to determine whether it still meets your investment standards,” and presented five‑year return figures she said showed Tesla underperforming peer large‑cap stocks. Other callers focused on alleged links between CalSTRS investments and Israel’s military supply chain, naming companies such as Elbit Systems, Palantir, Caterpillar and Lockheed Martin and asking the board to divest from firms they said are “fuelling the genocide of Palestinians.”

Speakers cited quantitative claims and petitions repeatedly; Thomas Patterson said he brought more than 1,300 signatures from Yolo County urging defunding of Tesla, and public comment period notices recorded that, as of Sept. 2, CalSTRS had received “88 communications requesting CalSTRS divest from Tesla” and more than 100 form emails urging a review related to the Gaza conflict.

CalSTRS’ public commenters urged two pathways: a financial review of concentrated, multibillion‑dollar holdings such as Tesla, and an ethical re‑weighting of the portfolio to exclude companies they say enable civilian harm. Advocates for workforce and labor standards also urged CalSTRS to use its influence with Teleperformance (which one speaker said represents a $57,000,000 CalSTRS holding) to press for union‑friendly labor protections in the U.S.

Chairperson Keeley acknowledged the seriousness of the comments and said staff have met with stakeholders and will report back: “You should not leave here thinking . . . your comments aren't being heard,” she said, and told the room that some investment details would be discussed in closed session where individual securities are considered. The meeting agenda included a closed‑session item described as “consideration of a specific unspecified investment decision.”

Next steps reflected the balance the board described during open session: public testimony and requests will be documented and staff will brief the committee on stakeholder meetings and any analyses; formal deliberations about individual securities were signaled for closed session.