Topline
At least 10 members of Congress traded Tesla stock after Elon Musk endorsed Donald Trump—collectively making more than three dozen trades worth up to $1.27 million—raising fresh concerns about conflicts of interest, as Musk gains sweeping power over federal regulations.
Elon Musk is recognized during President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress in … More
Key Facts
At least nine House members and one senator bought or sold Tesla shares after July 13, the day Tesla CEO Musk endorsed Trump, according to data from Capitol Trades and verified by lawmakers’ disclosures.
The trades totaled between $340,000 and $1.27 million and were appear to have been split fairly evenly between buys and sell (lawmakers only need to report transactions in broad ranges).
The trading wasn’t clearly partisan: Four Democrats bought Tesla shares and six sold, while two Republicans bought and one sold (three lawmakers both bought and sold during the period).
The data doesn’t suggest lawmakers broadly profited from their Tesla trades: of 25 purchases, only six were made on days when the stock traded below Wednesday’s closing price of $272.20, while 17 were above it and two are unclear; of 13 sales, seven were above that mark, three were below it and three are uncertain (lawmakers aren’t required to report the prices they paid).
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., was the most active, buying Tesla stock 11 times while making three sales, all between $1,000 and $15,000.
Other lawmakers who traded Tesla include Democrats Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Reps. Gil Cisneros Jr., Dwight Evans, Vincente Gonzalez, Julie Johnson and Morgan McGarvey; and Republican Reps. Rob Bresnahan Jr., Marjorie Taylor Greene and Michael Guest—Gonzalez sold shortly after buying, likely at a loss, while McGarvey appears to have made a gain in his wife’s IRA.
Crucial Quote
“When they make these trades, it raises questions about possible conflicts of interest because they’re also making laws at the same time,” Delaney Marsco, director of ethics at the nonpartisan government watchdog Campaign Legal Center, told Forbes. “They also can move the market by tweeting about something, calling for a hearing or with just a press release.”
Why Did These Lawmakers Trade Tesla Shares?
Spokespeople for all four offices that responded to Forbes’ inquiries–Whitehouse, Bresnahan, Cisneros and Gottheimer–said the trades were made by outside financial advisers without the lawmakers’ knowledge. Either way, members of Congress are required to report their stock trades, as well as their spouse’s, of more than $1,000 within 45 days, providing the name of the company, the type of transaction, the day of the trade and a broad range of the amount traded (for example $1,001 to $15,000, $15,001 to $50,000 and so on).
Contra
Using financial advisers doesn’t eliminate ethical concerns, Marsco said, since lawmakers can still know what’s in their portfolios. “It requires a lot of imagination to say, ‘We’re going to trust you to run the country, but you can’t be trusted to know what stocks you own,’” she said.
Key Background
Musk’s growing political clout has raised concerns about regulatory favoritism, especially after Trump named him to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a federal agency tasked with slashing oversight. Lawmakers are not banned from trading individual stocks, despite longstanding bipartisan calls to limit or prohibit such activity to avoid conflicts of interest.
Chief Critics
At least two bills have been introduced this Congress to ban members and their spouses from trading stocks and other financial instruments. In January, Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., and Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, filed the “No Corruption in Government Act,” and last month Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., submitted the “End Congressional Stock Trading Act.” Both bills remain in committee.
What We Don’t Know
Seven lawmakers reported selling Tesla shares, but only Whitehouse and Gonzalez disclosed fully exiting their positions—it’s unclear whether the others sold all their holdings or retained some shares.
What To Watch For
Lawmakers must disclose their year-end 2024 holdings by May 15, though many likely will receive extensions that push the deadline to mid-August.
Big Number
9: That’s how many times Greene has bought Tesla stock since September, with her trades totaling between $9,000 and $135,000. Greene chairs the House Oversight subcommittee overseeing Musk’s DOGE agency and has urged the Justice Department and FBI to investigate what she called “organized attacks” on Tesla sites nationwide. That could violate House rules, which bar members from “receiving compensation and may not permit compensation to accrue to the beneficial interest of such individual from any source, the receipt of which would occur by virtue of influence improperly exerted from the position of such individual in Congress.” When previously asked about the trades, her spokesperson told Forbes: “It’s about domestic terrorist attacks, Zach. You are nothing more than a Democrat troll. Enough out of you.”
Surprising Fact
President Donald Trump reported owning between $50,000 and $100,000 worth of Tesla shares as of May 2024, according to his financial disclosure.
News Peg
Under Musk, DOGE has proposed regulatory changes aimed at streamlining federal operations, potentially benefiting Tesla—and sparking a wave of lawsuits and protests.
Tangent
Only three lawmakers—Reps. Larry Bucshon, R–Ind., Greene and McGarvey—have reported buying shares in Trump Media & Technology Group or its precursor blank-check company. McGarvey, a Democrat representing the Louisville area, sold the stock two days later, noting it was bought in his wife’s IRA without either of their knowledge.
Forbes Valuation
Musk remains far and away the richest person in the world, worth an estimated $365.4 billion, according to Forbes’ real-time tracker.
Further Viewing
Further Reading
Things Are Bad At Tesla. They’re About To Get Much Worse. (Forbes)
Starlink’s Numbers Could Bring SpaceX’s Valuation Crashing Down (Forbes)
Why Tesla Isn’t The AI Powerhouse Musk Says It Is (Forbes)
Yet More Lawmakers Apparently Violate House Stock-Trading Rules (Forbes)
Fourth-Ranking House Democrat Apparently Violated Stock-Trade Rules (Forbes)
Democratic Lawmaker Violates STOCK Act With Tesla, Amazon Trades (Open Secrets)
