Tesla (TSLA) Stock Short Sellers Snag $1.4B In Gains After Drop

Tesla (TSLA) stock short sellers are swimming in profits on Monday, as they are capitalizing off of the EV maker’s falloff in the past week. TSLA is down over 7% on Monday and over 9% in the last five days. Analysts were bullish on the automaker’s Q2 production report, but Elon Musk’s latest moves have once again flipped the sentiment around TSLA shares.

At a price of $296, investors betting against Tesla (TSLA) are on track to make about $1.4 billion in profits, according to data analytics firm Ortex. Short sellers had clocked more than $4 billion in profits on June 5, a day when Tesla saw its biggest single-day drop in market value after Trump and Musk’s feud erupted into an all-out social media brawl.

Musk Continues to Pursue Politics, Tesla Investors Turn Bearish

Earlier this year, Musk’s political involvement with the US Government sent Tesla stock spiraling. Investors were concerned that the CEO was neglecting his EV giant for political gain, which caused TSLA to fall. That pattern appears to be back this week, which can be seen by the stock’s drop today. The Tesla CEO announced the formation of a political force called the America Party to save the US from bankruptcy. The agenda is “to give you your freedom back” and stop printing money to reduce the $36 trillion national debt.

Also Read: Tesla (TSLA) Stock Rises After Beating Q2 Production Forecasts

Trump gave his two cents on Musk’s announcement, clowning his friend-turned-foe. “I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely ‘off the rails,’ essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “He even wants to start a Third Political Party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States – The System seems not designed for them.”

In addition to the development, Azoria Partners postponed the launch of Tesla Innovation ETF due to Musk’s political involvement. The product had kick-started great hype but fizzled out as the institutional firm paused the ETFs. The firm released a statement saying that it is “taking a cautious approach” after Musk announced plans to form a political party. The move affected Tesla shares on Monday and caused it to dip in the charts.