Skip to content
  • MyNewMarkets.com
  • Claims Journal
  • Insurance Journal TV
  • Academy of Insurance
  • Carrier Management
Insurance Journal - Property Casualty Industry News

Featured Stories

  • Cat Bond Investors Told to Brace for Jamaica Payout
  • Berkley Explains Property Market, Company Appetite
  • Articles
  • Jobs
  • Markets

Current Magazine

current magazine
  • Read Online
  • Subscribe
  • Login
  • Front Page
    • National
    • International
    • Most Popular
    • Magazine
    • Forums
    • Blogs
    • Videos/Podcasts
    • Newsletters
  • News
    • Most Popular
    • National
    • International
    • East
    • Midwest
    • South Central
    • Southeast
    • West
  • Magazines
  • Research
  • Directories
  • Jobs
  • Features
    • Events
    • Forums
    • Market Directories
    • Quotes
    • Polls
    • Rankings & Awards
    • Insurance Giving Back
  • Subscribe

Tesla, Echoing Musk, Says ESG Metrics Are ‘Fundamentally Flawed’

By Saijel Kishan | May 9, 2022
Email This Subscribe to Newsletter
  • Article

Tesla Inc., whose Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has criticized ESG for making little sense, said current ways of measuring environmental, social and governance issues are “fundamentally flawed.”

In a 144-page annual report, the electric vehicle-maker said ESG ratings are based on how corporate profits are affected by ESG-related factors, rather than gauging a company’s real-world impact on society and the environment. The ratings are used by money managers to help decide where to invest.

In effect, individual investors who park their money in ESG funds managed by large asset managers are unaware that their capital is being used to buy shares of companies that are exacerbating the effects of climate change, rather than mitigating it, Tesla said.

“We need to create a system that measures and scrutinizes actual positive impact on our planet, so unsuspecting individual investors can choose to support companies that can make and prioritize positive change,” the Austin, Texas-based company said. It added that large investors, ratings agencies, companies and the public need to push for change.

Musk has been a recent critic of ESG, and has said its investment principles should be “deleted if not fixed.”

I am increasingly convinced that corporate ESG is the Devil Incarnate

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 3, 2022

In its report, Tesla cited how automakers may see their ESG ratings increase even though they are only slightly reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, while continuing to produce vehicles that burn fossil fuels. Most emissions from vehicles are produced when customers drive them and that data tends to be misreported, not reported at all or based on “unrealistic assumptions,” Tesla said.

Photo: Tesla Inc. electric vehicles charge at the Tesla Supercharger station in Fremont, California, U.S./Bloomberg

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.

Topics Tesla

Was this article valuable?

Thank you! Please tell us what we can do to improve this article.

Thank you! % of people found this article valuable. Please tell us what you liked about it.

Here are more articles you may enjoy.

Update: Catastrophe Bond Investors Told to Brace for Jamaica Payout
AWS Outage a ‘Moderate Incident,’ Another Near Miss for Insurance Industry
Adobe Stock imageRivian Agrees to Pay $250 Million to Settle IPO Fraud Lawsuit
A futuristic female cyborg in profile looking up with a glowing red brain visible through a transparent helmet.The Future of the Agency in a World of AI

Written By Saijel Kishan

More From Author

The most important insurance news,
in your inbox every business day.

Get the insurance industry's trusted newsletter

Email This Subscribe to Newsletter
  • Categories: National NewsTopics: Elon Musk, environmental social and governance (ESG) criteria, ESG, Tesla
  • Have a hot lead? Email us at newsdesk@insurancejournal.com
More News
Chemical Board Investigators Digging Into Fatal Tennessee Explosives Plant Blast
Kumamoto, Japan - Nov 29 2019 : Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix & Google (FAANG), high performance IT technology companies, is both an acronym & a buzzword to investors and people.Federal Judge Decertifies Apple App Store Class Action
Brown & Brown Reports Strong Q3 Revenue Growth of 35.4%
The Hartford Q3 Net Income Up 41%
More News Features

Read This Next

  • Tesla, Echoing Musk, Says ESG Metrics Are 'Fundamentally Flawed'
  • Update: Hurricane Melissa Bears Down on Jamaica as Category 5 Storm
  • Can a More Unified Front Be Formed Against Legal System Abuse?
  • Tropical Storm Melissa Brings Heavy Rain to Haiti, Dominican Republic and Jamaica
  • New Hampshire Youth Centers Seeking Coverage for Child Abuse Claims Sue Insurer

Insurance Jobs

  • Business Development Representative - Remote/Pittsburgh, PA/Allentown, PA
  • Property Liability Claims Supervisor - Wilsonville, OR
  • Regional Sales Manager - Irving, TX
  • Insurance Account Executive - Remote/ Brooklyn, NY
  • Senior Underwriter - Denver, CO ( Hybrid)
MyNewMarkets
  • Bigger Piece of the Pie: Surplus Lines Market Hits New Record as Specialty Lines Continue to Grow in Prominence, Market Share
  • Death and Insurance (Not Taxes): Part One
  • AI for Agents
  • How to Attract the Next Generation to Insurance
  • 5 Evolving Trends Shaping Architects and Engineers Coverage
Claims Journal
  • Exonerated Trader Tom Hayes Sues UBS For $400M Over Libor Accusations
  • PepsiCo Resolves Lawsuit Over Gatorade Bar Health Claims
  • Five New Members Join CAPA Board of Directors
  • J&J Talc Cancer Suits Jump 17% After Failed Settlement Effort
  • Canada Pension Fund Sued by Young People Over Climate Risks
Academy of Insurance education
  • October 21 E&S Property Underwriting
  • October 23 Gotchas That'll Getchya - Latest Policy Language That'll Get You Sued
  • October 30 Challenges in Agency Mergers – Reducing Staff Flight and Avoiding E&O Claims
  • November 6 Risk and Insurance for Digital Nomads

Insurance News

  • News by Region
  • News by Topic
  • Yesterday

Site Search

Features

  • Insurance Markets Directory
  • Forums
  • A.M. Best Company Ratings
  • Industry Events
  • Agencies For Sale
  • Newswire
  • Insurance Jobs
  • Rankings & Awards

Connect with us

  • Email Newsletters
  • Magazine Subscriptions
  • For Your Website
  • RSS Feeds
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Do Not Sell My Info

Insurance Journal

  • Submit News
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Reprints
  • Link to Us
  • Contact Us

Wells Media Group Network

  • Insurance Journal
  • MyNewMarkets.com
  • Claims Journal
  • Insurance Journal TV
  • Academy of Insurance
  • Carrier Management
© 2025 by Wells Media Group, Inc. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Site Map