Investor's Corner

Tesla (TSLA) S&P exclusion: ‘Why the rush,’ Ex-Committee head says

(Photo: Tesla Photographer/Instagram)

Published

5 years ago

October 1, 2020

Joey Klender

Tesla’s (NASDAQ: TSLA) exclusion from the S&P 500 in September came as a shock to many shareholders and investors. However, a former Committee head for the index says that there is no rush, and Tesla’s hype will keep them in the conversation for possible inclusion in the future.

Ever since David Blitzer had retired from his post at the S&P, he had been enjoying a quiet life. However, when the S&P shockingly left Tesla out of its list of newly included companies in September, Blitzer’s phone started ringing off the hook.

“I’ve gotten calls from people who know I haven’t been on the committee for a year and a half and barely ever call me about stocks, and they say, why didn’t they do it?” Blitzer said in an interview with Bloomberg. “The amount of chatter about Tesla is staggering.”

But, Blitzer isn’t convinced that Tesla’s inclusion will never happen. He just believes that the some are waiting to see if the automaker’s recent rally on Wall Street is for real, or if the stock will backtrack in the coming months.

Tesla stock has grown over five-fold so far in 2020. It has made many investors richer, and many short-sellers poorer. Still, one thing is for certain, the stock’s valuation is not certain. This is where Blitzer believes the hold up is taking place.

“There’s plenty of times when there’s big names, popular names, well-known names that don’t get added the moment they’re eligible,” Blitzer said. The S&P’s goal was never to lump together the biggest companies. It was to construct “a great measure of the market,” he said.

But more so, Blitzer does not understand why so many people are so focused on getting Tesla into the S&P. “I think he real question is, why the rush?”

TSLA stock’s skyrocket in valuation this year has surged the company to be worth nearly $400 billion. The company’s performance on Wall Street, along with other tech heavyweights like Apple and Amazon, have helped the Nasdaq 100 gain 30% in value compared to the same day in 2019. The S&P has only gained 4% so far in 2020.

Tesla (TSLA) is leaving the current S&P 500 index’s performance in the dust

Blitzer says that Tesla’s exclusion is reminiscent of Microsoft’s leaving-out from the S&P from 1986 to 1994. Although Microsoft had a market cap of over $20 billion at the beginning of 1994, the S&P committee left the tech company outside of the index.

Blitzer says that he and his committee were given grief for the decision, but they decided to do it because Microsoft had owned more than half of its outstanding shares, and at least 50% must be floating for public investors to purchase.

“After the fact — they sold off some stock, we put in the index, everybody figured they’d forget — we still got complaints. So there have been other big ones, but I guess some of us learned to shrug and say, ‘we’ll wait ‘til next month,’” Blitzer said.

The Microsoft ordeal taught Blitzer that patience is the way to handle the inclusion of some companies where their future is uncertain. While Tesla’s run in 2020 is impressive, he states that there just needs to be more time to figure out if the run is for real.

Disclaimer: Joey Klender is a TSLA Shareholder.

Investor's Corner

Shareholder group urges Nasdaq probe into Elon Musk’s Tesla 2025 CEO Interim Award

The SOC Investment Group represents pension funds tied to more than two million union members, many of whom hold shares in TSLA.

Published

4 hours ago

August 22, 2025

Simon Alvarez

Credit: xAI/X

An investment group is urging Nasdaq to investigate Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) over its recent $29 billion equity award for CEO Elon Musk.

The SOC Investment Group, which represents pension funds tied to more than two million union members—many of whom hold shares in TSLA—sent a letter to the exchange citing “serious concerns” that the package sidestepped shareholder approval and violated compensation rules.

Concerns over Tesla’s 2025 CEO Interim Award

In its August 19 letter to Nasdaq enforcement chief Erik Wittman, SOC alleged that Tesla’s board improperly granted Musk a “2025 CEO Interim Award” under the company’s 2019 Equity Incentive Plan. That plan, the group noted, explicitly excluded Musk when it was approved by shareholders. SOC argued that the new equity grant effectively expanded the plan to cover Musk, a material change that should have required a shareholder vote under Nasdaq rules.

The $29 billion package was designed to replace Musk’s overturned $56 billion award from 2018, which the Delaware Chancery Court struck down, prompting Tesla to file an appeal to the Delaware Supreme Court. The interim award contains restrictions: Musk must remain in a leadership role until August 2027, and vested shares cannot be sold until 2030, as per a Yahoo Finance report.

Even so, critics such as SOC have argued that the plan does not have of performance targets, calling it a “fog-the-mirror” award. This means that “If you’re around and have enough breath left in you to fog the mirror, you get them,” stated Brian Dunn, the director of the Institute for Comprehension Studies at Cornell University.

They don’t even HAVE an investment with Tesla. They are just a political activist group using a loose relationship with a “coalition of unions” to write letters to advance an agenda that IS NOT making Tesla and AI, robotics and energy leader. Their letter does not include any…— Amy (@_SFTahoe) August 21, 2025

SOC’s Tesla concerns beyond Elon Musk

SOC’s concerns extend beyond the mechanics of Musk’s pay. The group has long questioned the independence of Tesla’s board, opposing the reelection of directors such as Kimbal Musk and James Murdoch. It has also urged regulators to review Tesla’s governance practices, including past proposals to shrink the board.

SOC has also joined initiatives calling for Tesla to adopt comprehensive labor rights policies, including noninterference with worker organizing and compliance with global labor standards. The investment group has also been involved in webinars and resolutions highlighting the risks related to Tesla’s approach to unions, as well as labor issues across several countries.

Tesla has not yet publicly responded to SOC’s latest letter, nor to requests for comment.

The SOC’s letter can be viewed below.

Nasdaq+Letter Tsla Socig Final by Simon Alvarez

Investor's Corner

Tesla investors may be in for a big surprise

All signs point toward a strong quarter for Tesla in terms of deliveries. Investors could be in for a surprise.

Published

1 week ago

August 14, 2025

Joey Klender

(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla investors have plenty of things to be ecstatic about, considering the company’s confidence in autonomy, AI, robotics, cars, and energy. However, many of them may be in for a big surprise as the end of the $7,500 EV tax credit nears. On September 30, it will be gone for good.

This has put some skepticism in the minds of some investors: the lack of a $7,500 discount for buying a clean energy vehicle may deter many people from affording Tesla’s industry-leading EVs.

Tesla warns consumers of huge, time-sensitive change coming soon

The focus on quarterly deliveries, while potentially waning in terms of importance to the future, is still a big indicator of demand, at least as of now. Of course, there are other factors, most of them economic.

The big push to make the most of the final quarter of the EV tax credit is evident, as Tesla is reminding consumers on social media platforms and through email communications that the $7,500 discount will not be here forever. It will be gone sooner rather than later.

It appears the push to maximize sales this quarter before having to assess how much they will be impacted by the tax credit’s removal is working.

Delivery Wait Time Increases

Wait times for Tesla vehicles are increasing due to what appears to be increased demand for the company’s vehicles. Recently, Model Y delivery wait times were increased from 1-3 weeks to 4-6 weeks.

This puts extra pressure on consumers to pull the trigger on an order, as delivery must be completed by the cutoff date of September 30.

Delivery wait times may have gone up due to an increase in demand as consumers push to make a purchase before losing that $7,500 discount.

More People are Ordering

A post on X by notable Tesla influencer Sawyer Merritt anecdotally shows he has been receiving more DMs than normal from people stating that they’re ordering vehicles before the end of the tax credit:

Anecdotally, I’ve been getting more DMs from people ordering Teslas in the past few days than I have in the last couple of years. As expected, the end of the U.S. EV credit next month is driving a big surge in orders.

Lease prices are rising for the 3/Y, delivery wait times are… pic.twitter.com/Y6JN3w2Gmr

— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 13, 2025

It’s not necessarily a confirmation of more orders, but it could be an indication that things are certainly looking that way.

Why Investors Could Be Surprised

Tesla investors could see some positive movement in stock price following the release of the Q3 delivery report, especially if all signs point to increased demand this quarter.

We reported previously that this could end up being a very strong rebounding quarter for Tesla, with so many people taking advantage of the tax credit.

Whether the delivery figures will be higher than normal remains to be seen. But all indications seem to point to Q3 being a very strong quarter for Tesla.

Elon Musk

Tesla bear Guggenheim sees nearly 50% drop off in stock price in new note

Tesla bear Guggenheim does not see any upside in Robotaxi.

Published

1 week ago

August 14, 2025

Joey Klender

Credit: Tesla

Tesla bear Guggenheim is still among the biggest non-believers in the company’s overall mission and its devotion to solving self-driving.

In a new note to investors on Thursday, analyst Ronald Jewsikow reiterated his price target of $175, a nearly 50 percent drop off, with a ‘Sell’ rating, all based on skepticism regarding Tesla’s execution of the Robotaxi platform.

A few days ago, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company’s Robotaxi platform would open to the public in September, offering driverless rides to anyone in the Austin area within its geofence, which is roughly 90 square miles large.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirms Robotaxi is opening to the public: here’s when

However, Jewsikow’s skepticism regarding this timeline has to do with what’s going on inside of the vehicles. The analyst was willing to give props to Robotaxi, saying that Musk’s estimation of a September public launch would be a “key step” in offering the service to a broader population.

Where Jewsikow’s real issue lies is with Tesla’s lack of transparency on the Safety Monitors, and how bulls are willing to overlook their importance.

Much of this bullish mentality comes from the fact that the Monitors are not sitting in the driver’s seat, and they don’t have anything to do with the overall operation of the vehicle.

Musk also said last month that reducing Safety Monitors could come “in a month or two.”

Instead, they’re just there to make sure everything runs smoothly.

Jewsikow said:

“While safety drivers will remain, and no timeline has been provided for their removal, bulls have been willing to overlook the optics of safety drivers in TSLA vehicles, and we see no reason why that would change now.”

He also commented on Musk’s recent indication that Tesla was working on a 10x parameter count that could help make Full Self-Driving even more accurate. It could be one of the pieces to Tesla solving autonomy.

Jewsikow added:

“Perhaps most importantly for investors bullish on TSLA for the fleet of potential FSD-enabled vehicles today, the 10x higher parameter count will be able to run on the current generation of FSD hardware and inference compute.”