As it stands today, Tesla’s share price is hovering in the $370 range, good enough for a nearly 47% increase over the last 10 weeks alone. Moreover, Tesla’s market cap now stands at a whopping $62 billion, putting it ahead of industry stalwarts like GM and Ford. All the more impressive, if not worrisome, is that Tesla has achieved all this without so much as ever turning a profit. Consequently, there are no shortage of investors who, over the past few months, are betting big money that Tesla shares will plummet in the near future.
Famously, Tesla CEO Elon Musk can’t stand investors who try and earn money by betting against the company. Just about a month ago, Musk said that investors who have been shorting Tesla stock will inevitably experience a rude awakening. And never one to mince words, Musk said that the “sheer magnitude of short carnage will be unreal.”
That notwithstanding, short interest in Tesla shares among Tesla bears remains incredibly strong, a fact which is perhaps not too surprising given the company’s penchant for missing production deadlines. Regardless, Musk over the weekend doubled down on his claim that Tesla bears are about to be in a lot of financial pain.
In response to a tweet about Tesla shorts, Musk said that those betting against the company “have about three weeks before their short position explodes.”
Now why did Musk pick three weeks as his designated time frame? Well, that closely aligns to the end of the current quarter. Now if we assume that Tesla, by the end of the June quarter, can significantly increase Model 3 production, there’s a good chance that Tesla’s share price will ascend even higher. Further, if Tesla can somehow manage to turn a profit — something it claims it will do before the end of the year — Tesla’s share price could easily break the $400 threshold.
Musk is on record stating that Model 3 production should reach 5,000 units per week by the end of June of this year. It’s a bold promise, especially in light of Tesla’s previous missteps, but we’ll find out soon enough if this is one promise Tesla can actually meet.
