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A well-regarded Oregon lobbying firm added the electric car manufacturer Tesla to its client roster last October, raising questions how the advocates will balance Elon Musk’s interests with those of the local governments the firm also represents in the state Capitol.
WHAT HAPPENED: On Oct. 29, one week before Election Day, state records show three lobbyists with CFM Advocates informed the Oregon Government Ethics Commission of a new client: Tesla Inc. It marked the first time the three lobbyists—Dale Penn II, Jessica Adamson and Waylon Buchan—had listed the electric car company as a client.
THE PLAYERS INVOLVED: Since its co-founding by former Tektronix executive Gary Conkling in 1990, CFM has built a large book of business around some of the pillars of Oregon’s establishment. “CFM has a hard-earned reputation for handling some of Oregon’s thorniest public policy issues,” the firm says on its website. Its roster of clients includes local governments—like Portland Public Schools and the cities of Beaverton, Tigard and Sherwood—health care giants Providence and PeaceHealth, as well as the Oregon Solar Energy Industries Association and Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Penn runs the firm’s Oregon state affairs office, which advocates for the interests of those clients in Salem. Penn tells WW that CFM Advocates added Tesla as a client in partnership with Crosswater Strategies, which has lobbied for the company for eight years.
“CFM began supporting Tesla advocacy at the Oregon Legislature last October with the goal of promoting electric vehicle adoption, building out EV charging infrastructure and supporting the environmental policy of decarbonization,” Penn says.
Since the election of President Donald Trump, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has spearheaded an aggressive reduction of federal agencies and culling of their workers. The billionaire’s role atop the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency has sparked a nationwide backlash to Tesla, including several protests a week outside the company’s South Portland car dealership.
WHY IT MATTERS: CFM’s new client was first spotted by James Browning, founder and executive director of F Minus, a Pennsylvania-based watchdog. Browning contends that by adding Tesla to its roster, CFM is now lobbying against the interests of its public-sector clients, which are likely to bear the brunt of Musk’s DOGE cuts.
“The DOGE-driven funding cuts on education, housing and environment are going to severely harm the local governments that the firm also represents,” Browning tells WW. “It’s just self-defeating for these governments to use an Elon Musk firm.”
Penn disagrees. “CFM takes pride in representing a diverse set of clients without conflicting interests,” he tells WW. “Representing Tesla’s environmental interests in Oregon does not represent a conflict with other existing CFM clients.”
Browning says CFM’s strong reputation in the state Capitol provides political cover for Tesla at a moment when the company’s reputation is suffering. “It’s a huge PR win for Tesla in Oregon to have this firm,” he says. “The firm took Tesla on as a client a week before the election, at a moment when it was clear that a Trump presidency would profoundly harm a lot of their other clients.” (Trump hates green energy, and even OPB is in the crosshairs; a congressional DOGE subcommittee is examining whether National Public Radio should continue to get federal funding.)
Penn says CFM is not advocating for Musk’s other aims. “Tesla is not a federal client for CFM,” he says. “None of our work for Tesla in Oregon is related to the Department of Government Efficiency in Washington, D.C. CFM’s state affairs team is aggressively supporting Oregon clients affected by federal spending cuts.”
WW reached out to several CFM clients. “At this time, we have no comment on the matter,” said Candice Grose, chief spokeswoman for Portland Public Schools. The mayors of Beaverton and Tigard didn’t reply by press deadline. Nor did OPB executives.
WHAT TESLA WANTS: Oregon makes lobbyists disclose their clients to the ethics commission. But it doesn’t require disclosure of which lawmakers the lobbyists meet with, or what bills they’ve advocated for or against.
But people in the Capitol tell WW that Tesla has taken an interest in House Bill 2127, which would restrict what carmakers and auto dealers can charge customers for. The bill would bar auto manufacturers from charging for “a subscription service that uses components and hardware that are already installed on a motor vehicle.” People familiar with the bill say Tesla wants an exception for its subscription services, which are central to its business model.
A work session was held March 25 in the House Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection.