Tesla (TSLA) short sellers are suckers for punishment. Betting that shares of the electric automaker will drop, eventually to zero, they lost a record $38 billion as TSLA rose more than 700% last year.
That heavy bleeding continued on the first day of trading yesterday as TSLA rose to a new all-time high of $744.49 during trading. The high-flying stock eventually closed at a new record high of $729.77, up 3.42% for the day.
According to data from S3 Partners, yesterday’s increase resulted in a whopping $1.07BN in short losses on the first day alone. The reason for the big numbers is that Tesla is the largest short in the world, totalling $31.2BN, or 44.22 millions shares, or 5.83% as a percentage of its float. (via Financial Review)
For comparison Apple, the stock with the second highest short position, totals $13.3 billion, or 0.6% as a percentage of its float.
The strong Monday performance came on the heels of Tesla announcing its Q4 production and delivery numbers, which saw it set a new record for quarterly deliveries at over 180,000.
Legal Disclaimer – Darryn is a TSLA shareholder.
