Tesla: resilient carmaker gives shorts $7bn headache

{"text":[[{"start":12.7,"text":"Tesla has reclaimed its spot as the most shorted large stock on the US market. "},{"start":17.267,"text":"A share price rally and boss Elon Musk’s alienating rants on Twitter have put a target on the US electric car company’s back. "},{"start":23.847,"text":"But record earnings make this a dangerously expensive bet. "}],[{"start":28.04,"text":"Short interest in Tesla is now equal to 3.65 per cent of the float, according to data from S3 Partners. "}],[{"start":35.68,"text":"It is easy to see why shorts are gunning for Tesla once again, displacing Apple in the process. "},{"start":41.284,"text":"Electric vehicles have become much more available. "},{"start":44.064,"text":"That has lowered Tesla’s share of the market, leading it to cut prices for some models in the US, Europe and China. "}],[{"start":51.24,"text":"Add to that a justice department probe into Tesla’s so-called “Full Self-Driving” automated mode. "},{"start":56.519000000000005,"text":"The probe is going ahead, even though the company has made clear its cars cannot drive themselves. "},{"start":61.524,"text":"Nor has the much-hyped Cybertruck gone on sale yet. "}],[{"start":65.53,"text":"Tesla’s valuation remains high compared with traditional carmakers, even after a sharp sell-off last year. "},{"start":71.734,"text":"The stock trades at 51 times expected earnings. Ford, the second largest seller of EVs in the US, trades at 8 times. "}],[{"start":80.01,"text":"But Tesla remains the top seller of electric vehicles, It has led the shift from combustion engine vehicles to EVs, which is still in full swing. "},{"start":88.102,"text":"In the last quarter, it reported revenues up 37 per cent and operating income 49 per cent higher to $3.9bn. "},{"start":95.807,"text":"Sales in China should rise post-lockdowns, helped by lower prices. "},{"start":100.024,"text":"Musk has suggested sales could reach 2mn units this year. "}],[{"start":104.67,"text":"Resurgent short selling will no doubt enrage Musk. "},{"start":107.899,"text":"Despite once tweeting that he believed Tesla’s share price was too high, Musk has repeatedly railed against short sellers. "},{"start":114.217,"text":"He has called for the practice to be made illegal. "}],[{"start":117.76,"text":"Musk will be glad to know what their conviction has cost them. "},{"start":120.989,"text":"Shorts who bet against Tesla were up by almost $16bn in mark-to-market profits last year, according to S3 data. "},{"start":128.019,"text":"They are down by around $6.75bn in the year to date. "},{"start":132.199,"text":"Expect a slowdown in new short selling to follow. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":135.03,"text":""}]],"url":"https://creatives.ftacademy.cn/album/97896-1675994180.mp3"}