Folksam Group divests $160m Tesla stake

Written by Michael Griffiths

02/04/2025

Folksam Group has divested its entire shareholding in Tesla, after the Swedish insurer said Tesla’s approach to employee rights had violated its investment criteria.

The Swedish company’s stake in the electric carmaker, headed by Elon Musk, was valued at SEK 1.6bn ($160m).

Folksam's investment criteria is based on international conventions and the UN Global Compact, and concerns climate and the environment, human rights, and anti-corruption.

The insurer has divested its stake after describing Tesla’s attitude towards its employees’ union rights as “problematic”, and stating that its dialogue and advocacy efforts with the carmaker had been “fruitless”.

In a statement, Folksam revealed it had tried to influence Tesla in various ways, with proposals submitted to the company’s annual general meeting for two years in a row, but added that it had seen “no improvement”.

Head of asset management and sustainability at Folksam, Marcus Blomberg, commented: “This is not the result we had hoped for. Trying to influence our holdings through ownership control is important for the Folksam Group, but now we see no possibility of achieving a change and therefore we have divested the entire holding.”

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