Tesla nears record for first stock to reach $20bn short interest
Tesla is nearing a milestone as the first stock to ever reach $20bn in shorted shares, as its share price continues to rally.
Data from S3 Partners released after markets closed yesterday showed Tesla reached a short-interest level of $19.2bn, climbing as high as $19.95bn at one point.
S3 analyst Ihor Dusaniwsky said yesterday Tesla may also be in line for a short squeeze, where short-sellers are unable to continue betting on the share price to fall due to the stock’s gain — in turn forcing the share price even higher.
Tesla shares have risen more than 230 per cent this year alone, closing markets yesterday up two per cent at $1,394.28.
The electric carmaker’s market capitalisation has risen almost 25 per cent in just over a week, jumping by about $50bn to surpass $250bn. It is now the world’s most valuable carmaker, and roughly equals the values of Toyota, Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler combined.
Tesla’s chief executive Elon Musk this week teased those betting against the stock by releasing a line of red satin “short shorts” on Tesla’s online marketplace.
The shorts retail for $69.42, in reference to the memes associated with the numbers 69 and 420.
The carmaker is also set to join the tech-heavy S&P 500 index for the first time, if it reports a profit in its quarterly results on 22 July.
It would mark Tesla’s fourth consecutive quarterly profit, a key requirement for addition to the index.
At $250bn Tesla would be among the most valuable companies ever added to the S&P 500, larger than 95 per cent of the index’s existing members. It would have a major impact on investment funds that track the index.