SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX) received the lowest possible environmental, social and governance (ESG) rating from MSCI one day before its record $75 billion public listing, adding fresh scrutiny to the Elon Musk-led company’s governance as its stock continues to draw heavy investor demand.
MSCI Rating Shadows SpaceX Post IPO Rally
The Financial Times reported on Sunday that MSCI gave Space Exploration Technologies Corp. a triple-C ESG rating on June 11, the same grade MSCI assigned to the Russian state on its government ESG scale after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. MSCI said the rating left SpaceX "lagging its industry based on its high exposure and failure to manage significant ESG risks."
According to MSCI, ESG is an industry-relative risk framework that measures how well a company manages financially relevant sustainability risks and opportunities.
The rating came just before SpaceX’s record public debut, when the company raised $75 billion and closed its first day of trading up more than 19%.
