Don't want Elon Musk in your portfolio? Wall Street has turned that sentiment into a product. Asset manager Subversive filed with the SEC for two ETFs: QQNE, tracking the Nasdaq 100, and SPNE, tracking the S&P 500 — but with one major twist: they deliberately exclude Tesla and SpaceX. The filings cite corporate governance concerns, political risk, and extreme stock volatility. Trading is expected to begin September 21.
Subversive's 'Positioning ETF' Playbook
Subversive is no stranger to niche political products. It previously launched ETFs mimicking the stock holdings of U.S. lawmakers — one Democratic, one Republican — marketed as "invest like the elites." Now it has targeted a single individual, packaging anti-Musk sentiment into a tradable security.
The catalyst was SpaceX's June IPO and its subsequent inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 index. Anyone holding a passive Nasdaq 100 fund now automatically owns a piece of Musk's rocket company. Previously, to avoid Musk stocks, investors had to pick individual names. Subversive's solution: remove both Tesla and SpaceX wholesale from the index. The ETFs are selling not stock-picking skill, but the act of deleting Musk.
SpaceX Inclusion Triggered the Product
The supplementary filing was made on July 8. The funds mirror the underlying index but strip out companies "founded, controlled, or dominated by Elon Musk" — currently just Tesla and SpaceX (Neuralink and The Boring Company remain private). The rise in passive investors' forced exposure to Musk companies is the core market pain point these ETFs address.
Baron Capital's Ron Baron Goes All In
While Wall Street helps others avoid Musk, billionaire investor Ron Baron is charging the opposite direction. Speaking on CNBC in May, Baron Capital's founder said he plans to keep buying Tesla and SpaceX shares and intends to never sell. He called Musk "a special person," exceptionally brilliant, even a modern-day Leonardo da Vinci.
He's backing words with cash. Baron's SpaceX position has swelled to over $15 billion, making it his firm's single largest holding. He added another $1 billion during the June IPO. Baron projects SpaceX could reach a market cap of $10 trillion to $30 trillion within a decade, becoming "the largest company on Earth." He sees Tesla shares hitting $2,000 to $2,500 in the same timeframe, implying a market cap near $8.3 trillion.
PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel once said, "Never bet against Elon Musk," calling him capable of "near-impossible" feats. Even Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger have admitted they wouldn't want to be on the opposite side of a Musk bet.