Tesla has been removed from a widely-followed sustainability index over concerns about its lack of low carbon strategy, claims of racial discrimination and deaths involving its Autopilot technology.
S&P Dow Jones Indices removed the electric carmaker from the S&P 500 ESG index on May 2, the company announced in a blog post Wednesday.
The index measures the ‘performance of securities meeting sustainability criteria.’
‘ESG’ stands for environmental, social and governance. The criteria is used by ‘socially conscious’ investors when deciding where to put their money, according to Investopedia.
Tesla remains on the regular S&P 500 index, which measures the largest companies in the US by market capitalization.
The index provider cited various issues at Tesla that significantly lowered its ESG score, including Autopilot technology that has been linked to at least 11 deaths since 2016.
Allegations of racism also contributed to the company’s removal. Last October, a jury awarded $137…
