Tesla Short Sellers Collect $4.12 Billion After Shares Drop Following Earnings Miss
Shares fell as much as 15% Thursday, marking one of Tesla's worst days on Wall Street in the past three years.
Tesla short sellers won big following the company's drop on Wall Street after it reported subpar earnings on Wednesday, collecting about $4.12 billion in single-day profits, according to Bloomberg.
What Happened
Shares fell as much as 15% during Thursday's session and closed as one of Tesla's worst days on Wall Street in nearly three years. The selloff came after Tesla missed EPS estimates by reporting just $0.33 per share, far below the $0.53 analysts expected—despite posting record revenues driven by strong vehicle deliveries. Investors reacted to the company's announcement that it would aggressively direct spending toward AI development and its Optimus robot project.
Why It Matters
About 3% of Tesla's outstanding stock is currently sold short, according to S3 Partners managing director Ihor Dusaniwsky. Those shorts have accumulated paper gains of $8.92 billion this year as Tesla shares are down roughly 30% in 2026. Notable skeptics like Michael Burry revealed three weeks ago that he had opened a new short position on the stock at $416.22 per share, stating he was 'happy it jumped back to this level' in a blog post.
The Bottom Line
Tesla has burned short sellers many times before, but this quarter offered payback for skeptics. At the time of publication, shares were down about 3% and trading around $309.92.
