%Tesla () has been dropped from the S&P 500’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) index.
The %ESGIndex evaluates companies' performance in handling environmental, social and governance matters, assigning each company a score. The companies with the highest scores relative to others in their industry group appear on the S&P 500 ESG index, a list that gives companies credibility in the ESG space.
This is separate from the standard S&P 500, which is an index of the 500 largest publicly traded companies in the U.S. Tesla’s stock remains listed on the S&P 500 index, as well as the technology focused Nasdaq index.
However, electric vehicle maker Tesla was dropped from the S&P ESG list for several reasons. Ultimately, other companies in the automobile industry made improvements and pushed Tesla out of the index.
Tesla's overall score on the ESG index was pulled lower this year based on the company’s handling of allegations of racial discrimination and poor working conditions at its Fremont, California manufacturing plant, along with the company's handling of a federal investigation into its autopilot vehicles following injuries and deaths.
A series of crashes involving Tesla's Autopilot driver assist system and parked emergency-response vehicles has triggered an ongoing investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The agency is investigating at least 11 incidents in which Tesla vehicles have slammed into police cars and fire trucks while operating in Autopilot mode. At least 17 injuries and one fatality resulted from those crashes.
Earlier this year, federal authorities also announced an investigation into hundreds of reports of %PhantomBraking , or unexpected braking, when Autopilot mode is enabled.
In a tweet on Wednesday, Tesla chief executive Elon Musk pushed back on news that Tesla didn't make the list, saying that ESG is a “scam.”
Tesla stock is down 40% year to date at $709.81 U.S. a share.