
Investment firm Azoria postpones Tesla ETF after Musk plans political party
Musk made the announcement a day after polling his followers on the X social media platform he owns, declaring, "Today the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom."
Azoria was set to launch the Tesla ETF, which would invest in the electric vehicle company's shares and options, next week.
However, following Musk's announcement Azoria CEO James Fishback posted on X several critical comments of the new party and repeated his support for US President Donald Trump.
That culminated in a post where Fishback announced the postponement of the ETF.
"I encourage the Board to meet immediately and ask Elon to clarify his political ambitions and evaluate whether they are compatible with his full-time obligations to Tesla as CEO," Fishback said.
The announcement undermines the confidence shareholders had in Tesla's future after Musk said in May he was stepping back from his role leading the Department of Government Efficiency, Fishback said.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment.
The announcement from Musk comes after Trump signed his self-styled "big, beautiful" tax-cut and spending bill into law on Friday, which Musk fiercely opposed.
Azoria is also offering the Azoria 500 Meritocracy ETF that only invests in the top 500 US companies that do not impose hiring targets under diversity, equity and inclusion programs, according to its website.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
U.S. stocks close lower as Trump plans tariffs on Japan, South Korea
NEW YORK, July 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks fell on Monday as renewed trade tensions weighed on investor sentiment, pulling some major indexes back from record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 422.17 points, or 0.94 percent, to 44,406.36. The S&P 500 sank 49.37 points, or 0.79 percent, to 6,229.98. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 188.59 points, or 0.92 percent, to 20,412.52. Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with consumer discretionary and materials leading the laggards by losing 1.26 percent and 1.04 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, utilities and consumer staples led the gainers by rising 0.17 percent and 0.11 percent, respectively. Markets opened lower and continued the downward trend during trading after U.S. President Donald Trump posted letters on social media addressed to the leaders of South Korea and Japan, saying that 25-percent tariffs will be imposed on imports from both countries beginning Aug. 1. He also announced tariff rates for many other countries in similar letters. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed Sunday that the United States would begin notifying trading partners of specific tariff rates, but emphasized that formal implementation wouldn't begin until next month. He added that talks with 18 major partners were underway and hinted at potential breakthroughs in the coming days. "We're down (in stocks) after the long weekend, and it's somewhat of a critical week in terms of the tariffs," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York. Technology stocks led the pullback after the news, with Tesla sliding 6.79 percent as tensions flared again between its CEO Elon Musk and Trump. "Very simply Musk diving deeper into politics and now trying to take on the Beltway establishment is exactly the opposite direction that Tesla investors/shareholders want him to take," Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote. "After leaving the Trump Administration and DOGE there was initial relief from Tesla shareholders and big supporters... That relief lasted a very short time and now has taken a turn for the worst with this latest announcement." Apple and Alphabet both dropped nearly 1.7 percent, while Nvidia, Microsoft, Meta Platforms and Broadcom posted more modest declines. Amazon edged higher, bucking the broader trend. Investors are also turning their attention to the second-quarter earnings season, which unofficially kicks off on Thursday with results from Delta Air Lines. Analysts are watching closely for signs of how corporate profits are holding up in the face of trade tensions and geopolitical risk.

The Star
8 hours ago
- The Star
Phantom cows and missing millions
SANDRA Palleiro is on the hunt for her lost cows. The 60-year-old accountant stands in a muddy field at the end of a farm track in Artigas, in Uruguay's remote border region with Brazil. She has travelled 600km from the capital, Montevideo, to find 61 cattle she owns – at least on paper. The missing bovines were part of a 'cow bond' scheme that has collapsed, triggering one of Uruguay's biggest-ever financial scandals. The co-owner of one firm involved has died by suicide. Three companies have gone bust and are under investigation for fraud. 'Hello moo-moo! Could one of you be mine?' Palleiro calls out hopefully into a paddock, her jeans caked in mud as she approaches a wire fence to get a closer look. Like hundreds of other investors, she is unable to locate her animals or prove they exist, making them part of a herd of 'phantom cows' that may number more than 700,000. So far, losses total around US$350mil, shaking Uruguay – a nation of just 3.4 million people but home to 12 million cows. The scandal has also sent ripples across Argentina and Brazil, where similar livestock investment schemes operate and Uruguay's cattle-tracking system had long been viewed as a model. In March 2024, Palleiro put over US$50,000 of her life savings into a livestock investment scheme run by Conexion Ganadera. She was drawn by the promise of 7-10% fixed returns and glossy brochures featuring bucolic images of Hereford cattle. Investors could either own specific cows to be reared and sold for profit, or take a stake in the broader scheme. The appeal? A tangible asset she could track via a state-backed online portal, listing breed, age and location. Each cow was to be branded with a government- assigned symbol, and her investment documents bore the agriculture ministry's crest. But when she travelled to Artigas, papers in hand, to match the 53 cattle tracking numbers linked to this ranch, she found the reality didn't match the registry. 'It feels like falling into a nightmare,' she said. A drone view shows cattle on a farm in Artigas. Tesla crash that exposed the herd Three firms now under investigation – Conexion Ganadera, Republica Ganadera, and Grupo Larrarte – convinced nearly 6,000 people or investor pools to join their schemes. Many such ventures across South America are legitimate, but this one began to unravel spectacularly. The scandal's first public sign came on Nov 28 last year when a Tesla Model 3 crashed at 211kph in the city of Florida. At the wheel was Gustavo Basso, a co-owner of Conexion Ganadera. Weeks after his death – ruled a suicide by the coroner – investors reported missed payments. By January, the company admitted it was short of nearly US$250mil. The firms blamed cash flow issues on adverse weather and market conditions, including a 2022-23 drought. But by late January, panic set in as investors scrambled to recover savings and filed fraud suits, leading to bankruptcy proceedings and an investigation by Uruguay's Prosecutor's Office for Money Laundering Crimes. Pablo Carrasco of Conexion Ganadera denies the allegations. His legal team has declined to comment before court testimony. Grupo Larrarte's lawyer says the company is cooperating. Republica Ganadera has not responded to media queries. Fake cows, real losses Among the thousands of victims are politicians, priests and pensioners. An inventory by Conexion Ganadera's bankruptcy trustee found just 70,000-80,000 of the 804,604 cattle the company claimed to manage. In another case, the agriculture ministry revealed that Pasfer, a key cattle-holding firm, had only 49 of 3,740 cows pledged as loan collateral. 'We don't know if the cows were ever bought, whether they're alive or dead,' said Palleiro. 'Maybe the cows were fakes, or sold, moved somewhere, or their tags were changed.' Victims are questioning how such a massive failure went undetected within the much-lauded cattle registry. Three lawyers allege that firms either never tagged animals or redirected investment funds elsewhere. Others claim cattle were sold without investors' consent. Each company handled its own tagging and registry inputs, with little oversight. 'The registry reflects what the company provided. The problem is that there was no control,' said lawyer Nicolas Hornes, representing 98 victims. He visited several farms and found discrepancies between tagged cattle and registry entries. Other investors shared similar experiences. The livestock ministry has not clarified whether the registry system failed. Arrests and investigations Grupo Larrarte was the first firm to face formal complaints. One of its executives, Jairo Larrarte, is now in preventive detention on charges of fraud, misappropriation and issuing bad cheques. His lawyer claims Larrarte has cooperated and returned some cattle to investors. Republica Ganadera filed for bankruptcy in November, but the court rejected the move due to an ongoing investigation. Talks with creditors are ongoing. In March, the company said it was seeking the best possible outcome for investors. Several investigations into Conexion Ganadera continue. Carrasco, his wife Ana Iewdiukow, and Basso's widow, Daniela Cabral, are being investigated for fraud and embezzlement. A court barred them from leaving Uruguay in February, and their passports were confiscated. 'Snake charmer' and vanished fortunes Basso, whose fatal crash was the scandal's turning point, had long lived in luxury in Florida, a town of 30,000 surrounded by farmland. Local radio host Martin Fablet, a decade-long investor in Conexion Ganadera, remembered Basso vividly. 'He was a snake charmer,' Fablet said. 'He could never simply lose US$250mil... That money must be somewhere.' Back in Artigas, drone footage over the ranch shows around 80 cows – far fewer than the hundreds Palleiro and fellow investors believed were theirs. Workers mentioned salary delays and said more cows might be in distant fields, but no one could confirm which animals belonged to whom. Palleiro is furious at the impact the scandal is having on ordinary Uruguayans. She once juggled three jobs to build her retirement savings. 'We put in all our savings that cost us a lot of effort,' she said, her voice breaking. 'Now we want justice.' — Reuters


The Star
13 hours ago
- The Star
Tesla slides as Musk's 'America Party' sparks investor worries
The TESLA logo is seen outside a dealership in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, U.S., April 26, 2021. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo (Reuters) -Tesla shares fell nearly 7% in premarket trading on Monday after CEO Elon Musk's plans to launch a new U.S. political party raised investor doubts about his focus on the electric automaker's future. The former head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) unveiled the 'America Party' on Saturday, voicing his displeasure over President Donald Trump's 'One Big, Beautiful Bill'. This further escalates Musk's feud with Trump even as Tesla posted a second straight drop in quarterly deliveries. Their discord over the tax bill erupted into an all-out social media brawl in early June, with Trump threatening to cut Musk's government contracts and subsidies. "Investors are worried about two things – one is more Trump ire affecting subsidies and the other, more importantly, is a distracted Musk," said Neil Wilson, UK investor strategist at Saxo Markets. Investors had in May cheered Musk's decision to scale back political spending and remain Tesla CEO for another five years. He had spent nearly $300 million around Trump's re-election campaign last year. "But now (they) are worried he's going to (get) sucked back in and take his eye off Tesla," Wilson said. The first signs of investor unease surfaced soon after Musk's announcement, with investment firm Azoria Partners delaying the listing of a Tesla exchange-traded fund. Trump on Sunday called Musk's plans to form the "America Party" "ridiculous", saying the Musk ally he once named to lead NASA would have presented a conflict of interest given Musk's business interests in space. TESLA BOARD MOVES Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, a Tesla bull, said many investors are feeling a "sense of exhaustion" over Musk's insistence on immersing himself in politics. Azoria Partners CEO James Fishback posted several critical comments on X about Musk's new party, and called for the Tesla board to clarify Musk's political ambitions and evaluate if his political involvement is compatible with his obligations to Tesla as CEO. The new party undermines the confidence shareholders had that Musk would be focusing more on the company, Fishback said. Musk's latest political move raises questions around Tesla board's course of action. Its Chair Robyn Denholm in May denied a Wall Street Journal report that said board members were looking to replace the CEO. Tesla's board, which has been criticized for failing to provide oversight of its combative, headline-making CEO, faces a dilemma managing him as he oversees five other companies and his personal political ambitions. "This is exactly the kind of thing a board of directors would curtail - removing the CEO if he refused to curtail these kinds of activities," said Ann Lipton, a professor at the University of Colorado Law School and an expert in business law. "The Tesla board has been fairly supine; they have not, at least not in any demonstrable way, taken any action to force Musk to limit his outside ventures, and it's difficult to imagine they would begin now." Tensions with Trump, struggling sales and an aging vehicle line-up have hurt Tesla's stock, even as the company bets on growth from autonomous vehicles. The stock, which soared to over $488 in December after Trump's November re-election, has lost 35% since then and closed last week at $315.35. Tesla is the worst performing stock among "the Magnificent Seven" group of high-growth U.S. companies this year. (Reporting by Joel Jose and Arsheeya Bajwa in Bengaluru and Amanda Cooper in London; additional reporting by Medha Singh; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Arun Koyyur)