Elon Musk called out ESG investing Wednesday after the S&P 500 ESG Index removed Tesla from the 2022 rankings.
“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,” Musk wrote on Twitter after the rebalancing was released. “It has been weaponized by phony social justice warriors.” He followed up about 10 minutes later, writing “political attacks on me will escalate dramatically in coming months.” He then posted a meme that argued ESG “determines how compliant your business is with the leftist agenda.”
Despite Tesla doing more for the environment than any company ever! pic.twitter.com/ImxrhnRepj
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 18, 2022
Elon Musk Doesn’t Think He’s Ever Voted Republican. He Says He Will In 2022 https://t.co/h9VraS2Lal
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) May 17, 2022
The S&P 500 ESG Index ranks the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data of companies to essentially recommend companies to investors, CNBC explained, noting that Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and the multinational oil and gas giant Exxon Mobil were in the top 10 companies on the list. The index argued that Tesla’s “(lack of) low carbon strategy and codes of business conduct” as ranked “relative to its global industry group peers.”
The index also stated that Tesla’s “potential future exposure to risks stemming from its involvement in a controversial incident” were taken into account, and cited “two separate events” related to “claims of racial discrimination and poor working conditions.”
“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,” the index continued. (RELATED: ‘Rape Office’: Elon Musk Hammers NBC’s Many Scandals)
Political radio host Jesse Kelly responded to Musk’s tweet saying, “brother, I’m rooting for you. But you better be ready for more than just ‘political attacks’. If you actually try to make a push for free speech for the people, you are in danger. Evil people run this world now.”
Tesla reportedly does not have an active press relations effort, according to Barron’s. “If there isn’t a lot of information available, whether its publicly available information or information provided in our Corporate Sustainability Assessment survey, then that would negatively impact a score. So in the case of Tesla and others, the issue is partly a lack of disclosure,” S&P spokesman Ray McConville told Barron’s via email.
“So, while Tesla and others may not have been included in the index this year, the beauty of the annual rebalance is that they will once again have an opportunity to be reviewed for inclusion in years to come,” S&P concluded in their report.
It is unclear whether the S&P 500 ESG Index took into account the five racial discrimination lawsuits made in the last year against Amazon, Forbes reported. The average Amazon employee only lasts eight months, in large part due to horrific working conditions reported by the Guardian.