Subversive Capital registers ETFs that exclude Elon Musk companies

Subversive Capital has filed documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC, the US markets regulator) to launch two new exchange-traded funds (ETFs, investment funds that trade on stock exchanges like individual stocks). The Nasdaq-100 Ex-Elon Enterprises ETF and the S&P 500 Ex-Elon Enterprises ETF are built to exclude companies associated with Elon Musk from their respective index exposure.

The funds were legally registered by Tidal Trust I and are attached to a brand called Subversive Markets Lab LLC. As of the prospectus date, the excluded companies are Tesla and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX), according to the filing. It is possible the Ex-Elon funds may also exclude other companies that become closely associated with the near-trillionaire in the future, the filing indicates.

Avoiding Musk’s companies is not simple for investors who rely on mainstream index funds. Tesla has long been a favorite holding in large-cap and growth mutual funds, and SpaceX was recently added to the Nasdaq 100, meaning funds tracking that index now carry exposure to it as well. The new funds are designed, per the SEC filing, “to provide capital appreciation through exposure to a broad universe of large-capitalization U.S. equity securities, while excluding the equity securities of companies that are founded, controlled, or led by Elon Musk, or with which Mr. Musk is otherwise primarily associated.”

These are legitimate products that investors will soon be able to trade, but Subversive Capital has a track record of framing its offerings with some irony — the firm has previously marketed ETFs that let investors invest like the oligarchy, tracking stocks held by members of Congress. The new Ex-Elon funds arrive amid negative sentiment tied to Musk’s public conduct, including the infamous gesture he made at Donald Trump’s inauguration that looked a lot like a Nazi salute.

Why it matters

The launch reflects a growing investor appetite for financial products that explicitly avoid exposure to Elon Musk’s companies, driven by negative sentiment around his public behavior and political associations.