After various concerns, S&P removed U.S. EV maker Tesla from its stock market index.
Tesla, the world’s most significant leader in the electric vehicle industry, has been removed from the S&P 500 ESG Index due to poor work conditions, racial discrimination, and various accidents linked with its autopilot vehicles.
This led Tesla CEO Elon Musk to rage as he called ESG “a scam.”
Musk tweeted on Wednesday: “Exxon is rated top ten best in world for environment, social & governance (ESG) by S&P 500, while Tesla didn’t make the list! ESG is a scam. It has been weaponized by phony social justice warriors.”
Musk even said that S&P has “lost their integrity.” Followed by posting a meme with a caption of “Despite Tesla doing more for the environment than any company ever!”
TESLA’S REMOVAL
During its S&P 500 ESG Index annual rebalance, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon were in the top three of the lists.
In a blog post, Margaret Dorn, Senior Director and Head of ESG Indices, North America, said that Tesla was “ineligible for index inclusion due to its low S&P DJI ESG Score.” Tesla has fallen in the bottom 25%, making it ineligible for inclusion.
Tesla was pushed further down the ranks relative to its global industry group peers. The automaker also has a low carbon strategy and has declined scores in codes of business conduct.
Additionally, claims of racial discrimination and poor working conditions at Tesla’s Fremont factory and multiple incidents linked to its autopilot vehicles have affected its S&P DJI ESG Score.
Dorn noted in her blog post that “While Tesla may be playing its part in taking fuel-powered cars off the road, it has fallen behind its peers when examined through a wider ESG lens.”
Tesla and other companies that were not included in the index this year will have another opportunity to be reviewed once again to be included in the next annual rebalance.
