The $30 Trillion Mega-trend to Watch as Markets Bounce Back - Seite 3

Total checks every box in the ESG checklist. It is promoting diversity and safety, making massive changes in its day to day operations to ensure that its business is environmentally sound, and has even committed to going carbon neutral by 2050 or sooner. It's no surprise that shareholders are loving its forward-thinking approach.

Even automakers are getting involved. General Motors (GM) is laying the foundation of an all-electric future. It's focus on new electric vehicles is reshaping the auto-market. Its strategy is to paint with a wider brush than some of its competitors, with a wide range of vehicles and a key spotlight on battery technology. It's even getting into the electric bicycle game!

General Motors created its own brand of electric bikes, called Ariv. The bikes were just launched this year, but have already captured the attention of the European market. While they err on the side of pricey, coming in at $3,800 per unit, they do boast a high top speed and can travel a modest distance on a single charge The kicker for many, however, is that they can fold into an easily carriable pack, making them the perfect choice for a lot of commuters. Especially in big cities like London or Berlin.

Perhaps no other automaker is taking greater steps towards sustainability than Tesla (TSLA), however. For a company that was once given an outside chance against deep-pocketed ICE heavyweights, Tesla is suddenly being hailed as a clean energy revolutionary and Wall Street cannot seem to get enough of the EV maker. Coronavirus aside, Wall Street is exceedingly bullish on Tesla right now. Musk is likely to emerge with three crowns on the ground: EVs, solar, and clean energy. Each revolutionary.

It may seem easy to overlook Tesla's solar business considering that the solar panel and battery segment brought in just six percent of the company's revenue in 2019. But with the meteoric rise of ESG investing over the past couple of years, many companies, including traditional fossil fuel companies, have been investing in clean energy projects including solar and wind energy at an unprecedented rate. But Musk's big picture transportation transformation bid is in outer space, through his private company, SpaceX.