Elon Musk calls ESG a 'scam' after Tesla removed from S&P 500 ESG Index
Premium- Exxon is rated top ten best in world for ESG by S&P 500, while Tesla didn’t make the list, tweeted Elon Musk
S&P Dow Jones Indices has removed electric carmaker Tesla Inc from the widely followed S&P 500 ESG Index because of issues including claims of racial discrimination and crashes linked to its autopilot vehicles, reported Reuters.
Reacting to which, Tesla Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elon Musk tweeted that ESG was ‘a scam’ after Tesla lost its spot on an S&P Global index that tracks companies on their environmental, social and governance standards. He also predicted that ‘political attacks’ on him would 'escalate dramatically in coming months."
"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 tweeted.
A representative for the index provider told Reuters that Musk may have been referring to a list on a company blog post of the largest 10 constituents by market cap of the S&P 500 ESG Index after the removal of Tesla and others, adding that the list is not a ranking of best companies by ESG score.
Tesla has become the most valuable auto industry company by pioneering electric vehlices (EVs) and expanding into battery storage for electric grids and solar-power systems.
S&P Dow Jones Indices is majority-owned by S&P Global Inc. Musk and others have complained the firm and its rivals conflate too many issues by bundling ESG concerns into one total score.
Elon Musk spent Wednesday on Twitter Inc., announcing his political switch from Democrat to Republican, trashing ESG and replying to several users of the social-media website he’s agreed to buy. Tesla Inc., meanwhile, sank to the lowest level this year, wiping $12.3 billion from his wealth.
(With inputs from agencies)