Tesla rally a $1-billion headache for its army of shorts: Report

The 10 per cent surge in Tesla Inc shares after the electric-vehicle maker reported strong earnings is creating one notable group of losers: The pile of traders betting against the stock. 

Tesla is the most shorted stock in the world, with almost 3 per cent of its float held in short-selling positions. S3 Partners estimates that these investors are taking in more than $1 billion in mark-to-market losses just on Thursday’s surge. That drives their losses this month to $2.67 billion, according to S3.

“Tesla short sellers were actively trimming their exposure ahead of the earnings release, covering 2.09 million shares, worth $1.55 billion, over the last 30 days,” S3’s managing director of predictive analytics Ihor Dusaniwsky wrote in a note. Short sellers could continue to get squeezed out of their positions due to such “large and sudden losses,” he wrote.

Shares of the company wrapped up a seven-day winning streak to close at $815.12, the highest level since May 6.

None of this diminishes the strong year Tesla shorts have enjoyed so far, racking up $6.34 billion in mark-to-market profits in 2022.