SpaceX handed lowest possible ESG rating by MSCI

(...) In light of the IPO documentation and other publicly available information, “a poor controversies assessment, a very poor governance assessment and a low overall ESG rating should not surprise anyone”, said Frédéric Ducoulombier, a programme director at the Edhec business school’s Climate Institute. “This is very close to a governance horror story for public-market investors.” ESG assessments by major index providers have previously drawn Elon Musk’s ire. After Tesla was dropped from the widely followed S&P 500 ESG Index in 2022 over concerns including claims of racial discrimination and a lack of details on its low-carbon strategy, Musk described ESG as a “scam . . . weaponised by phoney social justice warriors”. 

Since SpaceX filed for its IPO, concerns have been raised over its share structure and limiting of shareholder rights, the concentration of control among insiders, potential conflicts of interest and a lack of board independence and remuneration oversight. Such worries have led to debate among European asset managers as to whether Musk’s company meets the continent’s flagship sustainability disclosure rules, which could limit the access of funds managing more than €6.5tn to SpaceX. “It would be difficult for a serious ESG data provider, or for a fund applying its own ESG screening, not to identify major governance concerns at SpaceX,” Ducoulombier said.