On Tuesday, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla (TSLA.US), issued a stern warning to investors who continue to short sell Tesla, including Bill Gates, saying they will be "destroyed." Musk said on social platform X that once Tesla solves the self-driving problem and puts its Optimus humanoid robots into mass production, any short sellers who still hold positions will be "destroyed," including Bill Gates. In fact, Musk has always been outspoken against short selling. He said that this practice of making money by betting the company will fail violates investment principles. In recent years, Tesla's poor performance has attracted many short sellers. Those who believe that Tesla is on the brink of financial collapse have always maintained that it is a fraudulent company that has been falsifying financial data for years.
Musk fired on Gates for short selling Tesla's stock. He stated that anyone, including Bill Gates, who still held a short position in Tesla after the company solves its self-driving problem and starts mass producing its Optimus humanoid robots, would be "destroyed." Elon Musk has always been against short selling and believes that this practice goes against investment principles. Tesla's poor performance has been attracting a lot of short sellers over the past few years who believe the company is fraudulent and has been falsifying financial data.
Elon Musk has always been an outspoken critic of short selling. He believes that making money by betting the company will fail is an unethical practice. Tesla's poor performance has attracted many short sellers who have accused the company of being fraudulent and falsifying financial data. Musk recently warned investors who short Tesla that they will be "destroyed" once the company's self-driving problem is solved and its Optimus humanoid robots are put into mass production. Musk specifically called out Bill Gates, saying that even he would not be spared.
Tesla's stock has rebounded, causing short sellers to lose $3.5 billion in two days. Higher-than-expected delivery data was an important reason driving Tesla's recent stock rebound. Data shows that Tesla delivered 443,956 cars in the second quarter, a 4.7% YoY decline, but higher than the analyst's estimate of 436,000 cars. The FactSet data shows that this is the first time in the past four quarters that it has exceeded expectations, and also the largest since the fourth quarter of 2021. In addition, Tesla plans to launch its self-driving car Robotaxi to the public at the Robotaxi Day event on August 8, and showcase its fully automated driving technology and its vision for the future of autonomous driving.
Tesla's stock has continued to rise for seven consecutive trading days, with an increase of nearly 25% this week and 73% since hitting bottom at the end of April. According to data from S3 Partners, since Tesla announced its second-quarter delivery data, the stock has risen 17% in two trading days, resulting in short sellers losing about $3.5 billion. With the continued rise, Tesla's stock price is approaching its highest point this year. Higher-than-expected delivery data has also won Tesla favor among Wall Street analysts. Bank of America analysts raised Tesla's target price from $220 to $260, while Wedbush analysts raised the target price from $275 to $300.
While Tesla's second-quarter delivery data showed that demand for the company's electric vehicles is still stronger than people thought, the data provides a limited view of the company's performance. Tesla's quarterly performance, which will be released later this month, will provide a clearer picture of the company's financial situation. According to data from LSEG, analysts predict that Tesla's second-quarter revenue will fall 2.9% YoY to $24.2 billion, a narrower decline than the 9% in the first quarter.
Tesla's electric car business has fallen into a sales slump due to aging product lines and unprecedented competition. In recent months, Tesla has been using discounts, low-interest or interest-free loans, and other incentives to attract consumers to buy electric vehicles. Analyst Ronald Jewsikow from Guggenheim Partners said, "Obviously, the loan discounts for Model Y and Model 3 have driven the significant increase in sales. But as we have seen with other significant price reductions and discounts, demand has been released early. Tesla must create new demand in the third quarter and beyond, and this has proven to be challenging over the past 18 months." The analyst rated Tesla's stock as "sell."
It is worth mentioning that Gates has short sold Tesla's stock, betting that Tesla's stock price will fall. This angered Musk because short sellers have caused him a lot of trouble in the past. Although Gates has apologized for this, it did not appease Musk. Gates said: "I apologized to him. When he heard that I was shorting Tesla's stock, he was very harsh to me, but he is very harsh with many people, so you can't take it too seriously."
Musk recently warned investors who short sell Tesla's stock that they will be "destroyed" once the company solves its self-driving problem and starts mass producing its Optimus humanoid robots. Musk has always been against short selling and believes that it goes against investment principles. Tesla's poor performance over the past few years has been attracting a lot of short sellers who believe the company is fraudulent and has been falsifying financial data.
Higher-than-expected delivery data was an important reason driving recent stock rebound. Tesla plans to launch its self-driving car Robotaxi to the public at the Robotaxi Day event on August 8, and showcase its fully automated driving technology and its vision for the future of autonomous driving.But these data only provide a limited view of the company's performance. Tesla's quarterly performance, which will be released later this month, will provide a clearer picture of the company's financial situation.
Musk and Gates have a feud over short selling. Gates short sold Tesla's stock, betting that Tesla's stock price would fall. This angered Musk because short sellers have caused him a lot of trouble in the past. Although Gates has apologized for this, it did not appease Musk.
Tesla's stock has rebounded recently, causing short sellers to lose $3.5 billion in two days. Tesla has been using various incentives to attract consumers to buy electric vehicles in recent months due to the slump in its electric car business. Analyst Ronald Jewsikow from Guggenheim Partners said that Tesla must create new demand in the third quarter and beyond, which has proven to be challenging over the past 18 months. The analyst rated Tesla's stock as "sell."
In the second quarter, Tesla delivered 443,956 cars, down 4.7% YoY but higher than the analyst's estimate of 436,000 cars. This was the first time in the past four quarters that it exceeded expectations and also the largest since the fourth quarter of 2021. Tesla plans to launch its self-driving car Robotaxi to the public at the Robotaxi Day event on August 8, and showcase its fully automated driving technology and its vision for the future of autonomous driving. Bank of America analysts raised Tesla's target price from $220 to $260, while Wedbush analysts raised the target price from $275 to $300.
Musk once asked, "How can anyone say they are committed to addressing climate change and then do the opposite by minimizing investments in companies that are dedicated to addressing climate change? This is pure hypocrisy. Why would anyone want to profit from the failure of a sustainable energy auto company?"
Musk and Gates have different views on charity. Gates is one of the world's largest philanthropists. He has donated billions of dollars to improve global health, education, agriculture, and other fields. He also advocates for other billionaires to join the ranks of donors in solving the world's toughest problems.
Musk is skeptical about charity. He believes that most charitable projects are inefficient and wasteful, and he is more willing to invest his wealth in his own companies to change the world by creating more advanced products and services. Musk has previously rejected charity suggestions from Gates and even mocked some of Gates' charitable projects.