Tesla Inc. TSLA Stocks have lost about 42% in the current year. Undeterred by the sell-off, certain members of the US Congress have traded the stock for the past few months, according to data from Capitol Trades, a website that tracks trades by lawmakers.
What happened: Since August, three lawmakers – Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif), Rep. Chris Jacobs (R-NY) and Rep. Kathy Manning (D-NC) – Made 14 trades in Tesla socks with a transaction value potentially as high as $315,000, according to the Capitol Trades database.
Members of Congress need only specify the size as a range. Khanna has executed the most trades during this three-month window. In late September, he bought shares ranging from $15,000 to $50,000, and in October he sold Tesla stock in two transactions, each valued at $1,000 to $15,000.
The biggest purchase in recent months has been made by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who bought $1 million to $5 million in Tesla stock on March 17, with the trade reported four days later. The owner was credited as her husband, Paul Pelosi. The insert has not been dumped since.
Why it matters: Most analysts think Tesla stock is grossly undervalued after the recent sell-off. This current weakness represents an opportunity not seen since March 2020, Tesla bull Gary Black said this week.
If macroeconomic fundamentals improve, Tesla could be in for a big bounce provided it executes on its strategy.
Regardless, lawmakers have received plenty of flak for the trade, especially since they’re privy to certain non-public information that could affect these stocks. That Pelosis were under fire for your Nvidia Corporation NVDA is acting while Congress is debating a bill proposing funding for domestic R&D in the chip sector. This bill has since been enacted.
Tesla closed Friday…
