January 19th, 2021 by Johnna Crider
Alaska’s Department of Revenue has raised its stake in Tesla (TSLA) stock and reduced its investments in three other stocks to make room for that stake, Barrons reports. Those stocks are as follows:
- Intel (INTC) — sold 219,744 shares.
- Gilead Sciences (GILD) — sold 165,058 shares.
- Qualcomm (QCOM) — sold 53,288 shares.
The agency, which also collects and invests public funds, shared the stock trades in a form recently filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The Department of Revenue managed $8.8 billion of US-traded assets as of December 31, 2020, and bought a total of 124,654 Tesla shares in the fourth quarter. At the moment, those Tesla shares are worth $102,984,149.
This brings its total investment in TSLA to 126,754 shares, or $104,719,085. It’s clear that Alaska’s Department of Revenue didn’t have that much of a stake in TSLA, and it obviously had a change of heart upon seeing Tesla’s consistent success (and S&P 500 inclusion). Still, the department holds shares in a ton of companies and $105 million is a small portion of $8.8 billion.
It’s a great thing to see Alaska take measures by investing in a clean energy company that is a direct competitor to the oil and gas industry — the same industry that one report says turned its back on Alaska. Baystreet shared that Big Oil is trying to revamp itself into “Big Energy” in Europe since the oil industry’s most profitable business is no longer oil.
Here in the US, the oil industry has been putting all of its eggs into the shale basket instead of investing in alternative energy — until now. Last month, a government auction of several drilling leases in Alaska wound up becoming an allegory for the state of the US oil industry — no one showed up. That’s right, no oil companies wanted a piece of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge pie, and I think that is pretty dang awesome.
The article noted that on auction day, not one major energy company made a bid, and only around half of the tracts on the offer received any bids at all. Also, most of the lots that were sold will most likely never be drilled upon. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority bought 400,000 acres at a minimum bid yet has never drilled a well in its history.
Chris Tomlinson, an analyst with the Houston Chronicle, pointed out that this message from the failed ANWR auction was loud and clear: more oil is no longer wanted or needed. That message is subtly emphasized by Alaska’s new stake in TSLA. Alaska is ready to shed its dependence on oil.
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About the Author
Johnna Crider is a Baton Rouge artist, gem and mineral collector, member of the International Gem Society, and a Tesla shareholder who believes in Elon Musk and Tesla. Elon Musk advised her in 2018 to “Believe in Good.” Tesla is one of many good things to believe in. You can find Johnna on Twitter at all hours of the day & night.