SpaceX received a "junk" ESG rating from MSCI: the company was compared to Russia
Elon Musk's aerospace giant, SpaceX, has received a CCC rating from the MSCI agency on the ESG scale—the lowest possible score. This happened literally a day before the company's historic IPO, during which it managed to raise $75 billion. Such a rating automatically places SpaceX in the same category as organizations and even countries whose management practices for environmental, social, and corporate risks are deemed critically weak.
CCC Rating: What Does It Mean for SpaceX?
The CCC rating is the bottom of the MSCI ESG Research scale. Companies with this score demonstrate minimal efforts in managing ESG risks, often have serious scandals in their past, or operate in a high-risk zone. SpaceX is no exception: it scored only 3.2 out of 10 possible points on governance metrics. For comparison, on the "scandal" scale, the company received just 1 out of 10 points, which automatically assigns it an "orange flag"—a marker of systemic issues in corporate governance.
Notably, Russia previously received a similar CCC rating from MSCI following the events of 2022. This comparison, albeit indirect, underscores the depth of SpaceX's problems in terms of sustainable development and transparency.
$75 Billion IPO and Sharp Correction
Despite the poor ESG rating, SpaceX's stock market debut was the largest in history, breaking the record set by Saudi Aramco in 2019. The company's shares, under the ticker SPCX, started at $135, but showed volatility in the very first days. After a surge above $225, a sharp correction followed: by Thursday's close, the shares had fallen 18% to $184.98. The company's market capitalization shrank by approximately $620 billion over two days—from $3 trillion to $2.37 trillion.
On cryptocurrency platforms such as Hyperliquid, large investors and "whales" have already opened a net short position of $45 million against the rise of SpaceX shares. This indicates that the market is pricing in further downward pressure on the quotes, especially against the backdrop of weak ESG indicators, which could deter institutional investors.
My expert opinion: SpaceX's low ESG rating is not just a formality. For institutional investors, especially pension and sovereign wealth funds, such assessments become a red line. Given that the company has only just gone public, it will either have to radically overhaul its approach to corporate governance and environmental reporting, or accept that a significant portion of "smart money" will bypass it. In the short term, this adds a bearish tone to the already volatile trading of SPCX.