TL;DR
Subversive ETFs has filed with the SEC two “Ex-Elon” funds, the Nasdaq-100 Ex-Elon Enterprises ETF (QQNE) and the S&P 500 Ex-Elon Enterprises ETF (SPNE), which track those indices but exclude any companies “founded, controlled or directed by” Elon Musk, currently Tesla and SpaceX. The trigger was the rapid listing of SpaceX on the Nasdaq-100, which forced passive investors to hold it. Actively managed funds (higher fees) are planned to launch around September 21, 2026.
An investment company offers a way to invest in the broader market without owning Elon Musk’s companies. New York-based Subversive ETFs has filed two “Ex-Elon” funds with the SEC, Bloomberg Reports.
One fund tracks the Nasdaq-100 and the other the S&P 500. Both exclude any company “founded, controlled or directed by” Musk.
The products are the Nasdaq-100 Ex-Elon Enterprises ETF and the S&P 500 Ex-Elon Enterprises ETF, ticker symbols QQNE and SPNE. Filings point to a release around September 21.
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For now, the exclusions mean no Tesla or SpaceX. Other Musk companies, such as Neuralink and Boring Company, are not publicly traded, and the screen could extend to OpenAI, which Musk co-founded, if it ever goes public.
The funds are actively managed and aim to hold at least 80% of their assets in their index minus any excluded names. Active management usually comes with higher fees than a simple index tracker.
Why a fund to avoid a man?
The direct trigger was SpaceX joining the Nasdaq-100. A rule change that accelerated mega-cap listings meant the new public rocket company quickly entered major indices, leading it to the funds that track them.
That forces passive investors to hold SpaceX whether they want to or not. Analysts have noted that hundreds of billions in assets tracking the index were poised to buy the shares automatically, a dynamic critics call a transfer of wealth to existing shareholders.
Not everyone wants that exposure. Some oppose SpaceX Governance, where Musk maintains dominant control of voting.while others question his assessment, and a The Danish pension fund has already blacklisted him.
Conviction has a cost.
Discarding a company is not free and that is mutual. SpaceX fell almost 7% on its first day on the Nasdaq-100, which would have prevented Ex-Elon holders from falling.
But delisting a stock also means giving up its profits, and Musk’s companies have created enormous wealth for early backers. An investor who bets against them is making an active bet, not a neutral one.
The funds also sit in a small but growing niche of values- and policy-driven investments. The open question these tickers will answer is whether many savers actually send money through a single-person opt-out screen.
For now, the speech is simple and narrow. If you want the index without a particular founder, there’s finally a box you need to check.
