[mw1]

It’s not trivial to concoct a short position in TSLA to offset your index holdings.

For one, it has large borrowing costs. You already admit that short sellers haven’t fared well, and shorting over a long time period can be very costly. Concocting a short position to offset one’s long-term index holdings requires being fairly accurate with timing and is very different than just wishing it wasn’t in there because you imagine that eventually the bill on that will come due, even if it’s years down the line.

If I’m wrong, I’d love to see a cheap way to do it over a 5-10 year period.

[ctchocula]

Direct indexing will soon be able to provide that functionality of giving you S&P 500 stocks minus A, B and C companies you don't want to hold. However, cheap and reliable direct indexing brokerages aren't out there yet. Hopefully more competitors show up and help lower the prices for everyone.