Topline<\/p>\n
Index provider MSCI awarded SpaceX the lowest possible environmental, social and governance (ESG) rating, ranking Elon Musk\u2019s rocket maker at the same score as Russia while flagging concerns the firm has failed to manage \u201csignificant\u201d risks following its record-setting debut earlier this month. <\/p>\n
Elon Musk has claimed the ratings are \u201cweaponized by phony social justice warriors.\u201d <\/p>\n
Getty ImagesKey Facts<\/p>\n
MSCI, one of the world\u2019s largest stock market index providers, awarded SpaceX a CCC rating a day before its June 11 initial public offering, the lowest on MSCI\u2019s seven-tier sustainability scale, saying the company was \u201clagging its industry\u201d because of its exposure to and management of \u201csignificant\u201d environmental, social and governance risks, the Financial Times reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n A CCC rating is awarded to companies that have \u201cvery poor management measures\u201d that may be in or were recently involved in \u201csignificant\u201d ESG controversies, according to MSCI<\/a>.<\/p>\n SpaceX scored a one out of 10 on MSCI\u2019s \u201ccontroversies\u201d scale and was awarded an \u201corange flag,\u201d a designation for companies MSCI deems to be directly or indirectly involved in one or more \u201csevere\u201d controversies,\u201d whereas a score of zero and a \u201cred flag\u201d are reserved for firms facing one or more \u201cvery severe\u201d ongoing controversies.<\/p>\n MSCI awarded SpaceX a 3.2 out of 10 on governance, a metric on which companies start at a perfect 10 and lose points for what MSCI describes as \u201ccorporate governance flags.\u201d<\/p>\n SpaceX did not immediately respond to Forbes\u2019 request for comment, but Musk responded to the ESG score on X, writing<\/a>, \u201cUnfortunately, electric rockets are impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n Shares of SpaceX plunged by more than 10% as of Monday morning, potentially extending a losing streak to three days following a post-IPO surge.<\/p>\n surprising fact<\/p>\n The S&P 500 removed Musk\u2019s Tesla from its ESG Index in May 2022, citing a \u201clack of low-carbon industry\u201d and \u201ccodes of business conduct\u201d following claims of racial discrimination and poor working conditions at Tesla\u2019s Fremont, California, factory. Tesla\u2019s handling of an investigation by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration also weighed on its ESG score, according to the S&P 500. Musk denounced<\/a> the rating, claiming ESG \u201cis a scam\u201d that has been \u201cweaponized by phony social justice warriors,\u201d and called<\/a> ESG the \u201cDevil Incarnate.\u201d<\/p>\n key background<\/p>\n SpaceX has faced scrutiny in recent years over workplace safety, labor disputes and allegations of employee discrimination and retaliation. The National Labor Relations Board dismissed a case in February accusing SpaceX of illegally firing eight employees who criticized Musk and requested that the company distance itself from Musk’s social media comments, including <\/a>one in which he made light of allegations of sexual harassment against him. In August 2023, the Justice Department sued SpaceX for allegedly discouraging asylum seekers and refugees from applying and refusing to hire or consider them because of their citizenship status. The DOJ dropped its case in February 2025. Musk\u2019s xAI, which was acquired by SpaceX earlier this year, has faced litigation and investigations into allegations that AI chatbot Grok enabled the creation of non-consensual sexualized images, including claims involving minors. Musk\u2019s AI firm also faces an environmental lawsuit over gas-burning turbines in Mississippi, though the DOJ has requested<\/a> that the case be dropped.<\/p>\n forbes valuation<\/p>\n Musk is by far the world\u2019s wealthiest person with a net worth of $1.2 trillion as of Monday, according to Forbes\u2019 estimates<\/a>. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO became the world\u2019s first trillionaire earlier this month after SpaceX\u2019s IPO, with his fortune swelling to above $1.4 trillion amid record-setting investor demand. <\/p>\n further readingForbesSpaceX Stock Plunge Wipes Out $600 Billion After Cursor Deal Spooks InvestorsBy Ty Roush<\/a>ForbesWill SpaceX Impact Your 401(k)? Here\u2019s How Regular Investors Are ExposedBy Ty Roush<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Topline Index provider MSCI awarded SpaceX the lowest possible environmental, social and governance (ESG) rating, ranking Elon Musk\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1043187,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3844],"tags":[295,14924,287247,287248,70,413,124535,1603,16,15],"class_list":["post-1043186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-elon-musk","tag-esg","tag-msci","tag-post-ipo","tag-science","tag-space","tag-space-x","tag-spacex","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116794727292112721","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1043186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1043186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1043186\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1043187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1043186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1043186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1043186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}