Senator Hoylman-Sigal and Assemblymember Lasher Propose D.O.G.E Act to Provide for Investigation and Cancellation of New York State’s Contracts with Tesla

NEW YORK - Today State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D, WFP-Manhattan) and Assemblymember Micah Lasher (D - Manhattan)  joined  hundreds of protestors outside of the Tesla showroom in Lower Manhattan to denounce Elon Musk’s undemocratic takeover of the federal government and announce new legislation, the Determining Obligations and Guaranteeing Enforcement (D.O.G.E) in Government Contracting Act.  This legislation would prompt an investigation of all existing contracts relating to the leasing of state-owned premises to private parties for the production, manufacture and/or development of solar shingle products, electric vehicle charging networks, advanced driver-assistance systems, and/or supercomputer hardware, including, but not limited to, the Tesla Gigafactory in Buffalo, New York. The purpose of the investigation would be to eliminate any waste, fraud, or abuse of New York State resources by Tesla resulting from the agreements.

Specifically, the legislation will require Empire State Development to confirm whether Tesla has created promised jobs, invested in promised supercomputers, opened promised dealerships, and paid for promised leased space, and provide confirmation to the public. If Tesla is found to not have fulfilled their contractual obligations, the legislation will require Empire State Development to take measures to terminate contractual relationships and claw back state funds given to Tesla.

Senator Hoylman-Sigal said: “New Yorkers have had enough of Elon Musk using his influence to buy control of our federal government and slash critical funding under the guise of “eliminating waste, fraud and abuse.” New York State should not be doing business with Elon Musk, especially when there are open questions as to whether he is even fulfilling the requirements of his existing contracts with the state. That’s why Assemblymember Lasher and I are introducing new legislation to hold Elon Musk and Tesla accountable by requiring a thorough examination of the business dealings that New York State has with Tesla to determine if they actually are doing what they promised in terms of job creation, investments in supercomputers, opening new dealerships  and payment of their leases. If they have not, then our legislation will require New York State to take any measures necessary to terminate our contracts with Tesla and get back any funds that Tesla may have improperly taken from New Yorkers. 

Assemblymember Micah Lasher said: "Elon Musk is doing enormous damage under the pretense of cutting waste, while benefiting from one of the biggest and worst government subsidy deals in the history of New York. This legislation is about fighting back — both against this actual waste of taxpayer dollars by Elon Musk himself and against a regime that is directly hostile to the interests of New York."