

Investor's Corner
Tesla bear Jim Chanos isn’t shorting $TSLA anymore, he’s moved to a Put position
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) bear Jim Chanos is no longer shorting the automaker’s stock. Instead, Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company’s longtime skeptic has moved on to a “Put” position.
Chanos said in an interview with CNBC that he has abandoned the “Short” position he once held on Tesla stock, SeekingAlpha reported. Evidently, the losses came to be too much for the investor to handle, so he has moved on. Interestingly, Chanos commended Musk in December for a job well done, admitting defeat but not moving his belief that TSLA stock will eventually meet its demise.
Short and put positions are similar because they are fundamentally used in a bearish manner to predict the decline of a security or index. Short selling involves the sale of a security not owned by the seller but borrowed and then sold in the market to be brought back up at a later time. If the stock rises and doesn’t fall, it opens the potential for large-scale losses.
Put options give the buyer the right to sell an underlying asset at an agreed price in an option contract. The maximum loss is the premium paid within the option.
Still not a true believer in Tesla’s valuation or its label as the world’s most valuable automaker, Chanos recognized that EPS estimates for the automaker in January 2019 for the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years were higher than what they are today, even though the stock was trading at only $50 per share split-adjusted.
That kind of tells you a little bit about what’s happened in the marketplace in that valuations have just gone parabolic for basically a company that’s still, in the eyes of analysts, earning at or below where they thought it would be earning two years ago. That’s kind of incredible,” he said.
But since January 2019, Tesla has grown significantly. The company only had one production facility in operation at the time, and Giga Berlin wouldn’t be announced until November of the same year. Tesla was only building three vehicles, and only one of them, the Model 3, was a mass-market car geared toward affordable price points that would open the doors for a wide-range EV adoption across the world. Tesla had already announced Giga Shanghai by this point, but the project was far from complete and wouldn’t start delivering vehicles until January 2020.
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January 2019 also saw the company’s Q4 2018 Earnings Call and the release of delivery and production figures for the electric automaker. In the final quarter of 2018, Tesla manufactured 86,555 cars, 61,394 of them were the Model 3. For the year, the company delivered 245,240 cars in total. It was Tesla’s third profitable quarter all-time at that point.
In comparison, Tesla more than doubled that output in 2020. It produced over 509,000 vehicles in 2020 alone, with 98% of them being delivered, leaving little room for inventory or “falling demand” arguments. Tesla managed to deliver 180,570 cars in Q4 2020 alone, well over 50% of the 2018 full-year delivery figures.
Additionally, Tesla short-sellers, bears, and skeptics alike rarely consider that the company is more than an automaker. With a line of sustainable energy products at competitive prices, Tesla has an energy sector that has cause for major disruption moving forward. Billionaire investor Chamath Palihapitiya says that Tesla will “double and triple again” after its energy business takes off, which could spell even worse news for Chanos and other short-sellers moving forward.
Disclaimer: Joey Klender is a TSLA Shareholder.
Elon Musk
Tesla called ‘biggest meme stock we’ve ever seen’ by Yale associate dean

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) is being called “the biggest meme stock we’ve ever seen” by Yale School of Management Senior Associate Dean Jeff Sonnenfeld, who made the comments in a recent interview with CNBC.
Sonnenfeld’s comments echo those of many of the company’s skeptics, who argue that its price-to-earnings ratio is far too high when compared to other companies also in the tech industry. Tesla is often compared to companies like Apple, Nvidia, and Microsoft when these types of discussions come up.
Fundamentally, yes, Tesla does trade at a P/E level that is significantly above that of any comparable company.
However, it is worth mentioning that Tesla is not traded like a typical company, either.
Here’s what Sonnenfeld said regarding Tesla:
“This is the biggest meme stock we’ve ever seen. Even at its peak, Amazon was nowhere near this level. The PE on this, well above 200, is just crazy. When you’ve got stocks like Nvidia, the price-earnings ratio is around 25 or 30, and Apple is maybe 35 or 36, Microsoft around the same. I mean, this is way out of line to be at a 220 PE. It’s crazy, and they’ve, I think, put a little too much emphasis on the magic wand of Musk.”
Many analysts have admitted in the past that they believe Tesla is an untraditional stock in the sense that many analysts trade it based on narrative and not fundamentals. Ryan Brinkman of J.P. Morgan once said:
“Tesla shares continue to strike us as having become completely divorced from the fundamentals.”
Dan Nathan, another notorious skeptic of Tesla shares, recently turned bullish on the stock because of “technicals and sentiment.” He said just last week:
“I think from a trading perspective, it looks very interesting.”
Nathan said Tesla shares show signs of strength moving forward, including holding its 200-day moving average and holding against current resistance levels.
Sonnenfeld’s synopsis of Tesla shares points out that there might be “a little too much emphasis on the magic wand of Musk.”
Elon Musk just bought $1 billion in Tesla stock, his biggest purchase ever
This could refer to different things: perhaps his recent $1 billion stock buy, which sent the stock skyrocketing, or the fact that many Tesla investors are fans and owners who do not buy and sell on numbers, but rather on news that Musk might report himself.
Tesla is trading around $423.76 at the time of publication, as of 3:25 p.m. on the East Coast.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk affirms Tesla commitment and grueling work schedule: “Daddy is very much home”
The remarks came as Tesla shares crossed the $400 mark on the stock market.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk reiterated his commitment to the electric vehicle maker and its future projects this week, responding to speculation following his $1 billion purchase of TSLA stock.
The remarks came as Tesla shares crossed the $400 mark on the stock market, extending a rally fueled in part by Musk’s TSLA purchase.
Elon Musk’s nonstop work schedule
Amidst the reaction of TSLA stock to Musk’s $1 billion investment, Tesla owners such as @greggertruck noted that “Daddy’s home.” Musk replied, stating that “Daddy is very much home.” He then shared details of a packed weekend of work, which was definitely grueling but completely within character for a “wartime CEO.”
Musk did note, however, that he had lunch with his kids during the weekend despite his extremely busy schedule.
“Daddy is very much home. Am burning the midnight oil with Optimus engineering on Friday night, then redeye overnight to Austin arriving 5am, wake up to have lunch with my kids and then spend all Saturday afternoon in deep technical reviews for the Tesla AI5 chip design.
“Fly to Colossus II on Monday to walk the whole datacenter floor, review transformers and power production (excellent progress), depart midnight. Then up to 12 hours of back-to-back meetings across all Tesla departments, but with a particular focus on AI/Autopilot, Optimus production plans, and vehicle production/delivery,” Musk wrote in his post.
Wartime CEO
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives described Musk as operating in “wartime CEO mode,” highlighting autonomous driving and AI as a trillion-dollar market opportunity for Tesla. Musk reiterated this point late last month as well, when he outlined the several projects he is juggling among his numerous companies. At the time, Musk stated that he was busy with Starship 10, Grok 5, and Tesla V14. This was despite his notable presence on X.
With Tesla Master Plan Part IV being partly released, the company is entering what could very well be its most ambitious stage to date. To usher in an era of sustainable abundance, Tesla would definitely require a “wartime CEO,” someone who could remain locked in and determined to push through any obstacles to ensure that the company achieves its goals.
Elon Musk
Tesla analyst says Musk stock buy should send this signal to investors
“With Musk’s (Tesla stock) purchase, combined with the upward momentum for delivery expectations and robotaxi rollout, we are becoming more bullish.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk purchased roughly $1 billion in Tesla shares on Friday, and analysts are now breaking down the move as the stock is headed upward.
One of them is William Blair analyst Jed Dorsheimer, who said in a new note to investors on Monday that Musk’s move should send a signal of confidence to stock buyers, especially considering the company’s numerous catalysts that currently exist.
Elon Musk just bought $1 billion in Tesla stock, his biggest purchase ever
Dorsheimer said in the note:
“With Musk’s (Tesla stock) purchase, combined with the upward momentum for delivery expectations and robotaxi rollout, we are becoming more bullish. This purchase is Musk’s first buy since 2020. To us, this sends a strong signal of confidence in the most important part of Tesla’s future business, robotaxi.”
Musk putting an additional $1 billion back into the company in the form of more stock ownership is obviously a huge vote of confidence.
He knows more than anyone about the progress Tesla has made and is making on the Robotaxi platform, as well as the company’s ongoing efforts to solve vehicle autonomy. If he’s buying stock, it is more than likely a good sign.
Tesla has continued to expand its Robotaxi platform in a number of ways. The project has gotten bigger in terms of service area, vehicle fleet, and testing population. Tesla has also recently received a permit to test in Nevada, unlocking the potential to expand into a brand-new state for the company.
In the note, Dorsheimer also touched on Musk’s recent pay package, revealing that William Blair recently met with Tesla’s Board of Directors, who gave the firm some more color on the situation:
“We recently participated in a meeting with Tesla’s board of directors to discuss the details of Musk’s performance package. The board is confident of its position in the Delaware case and anticipates a verdict by end of year. It does not expect a similar situation to occur under new Texas jurisdiction. Musk has the board’s full support, and we expect he’ll get more than enough shareholder support for this to pass with flying colors.”
Tesla stock is up over 6 percent so far today, trading at $421.50 at the time of publication.
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