Investor's Corner
Tesla (TSLA) stocks hold gains after slamming shorts with $1.7 billion loss
Tesla stock (NASDAQ:TSLA) held to gains Friday, following a 16% surge on Thursday after the company posted a better-than-expected financial report and a successful earnings call with CEO Elon Musk. In its wake, short-sellers betting against the electric car maker were slammed with $1.7 billion in paper losses in a single day.
Financial analytics firm S3 Partners stated that Thursday’s $1.7 billion loss had pushed the aggregate year-to-date performance of Tesla short-sellers into the red. Prior to the release of Tesla’s Q2 financial report, short-sellers were up $276 million for the year. After the company’s stock soared 16% on Thursday, short-sellers now have losses of $1.4 billion in 2018 so far. Nevertheless, in a statement to Reuters, head of research at S3 Partners Ihor Dusaniwsky, stated that Thursday’s $1.7 billion loss had not incited a lot of short-sellers to cover their positions yet.
“We are not seeing a large amount of buy to covers yet. With such a large price move on the open, most short-sellers that are looking to cover are waiting for a retracement before placing buy-to-cover orders,” Dusaniwsky said.
Tesla remains as one of the most shorted stocks in the market, attracting high-profile short-sellers like Jim Chanos of Kynikos Associates, who has openly stated that he believes Tesla stock is worth $0. Billionaire hedge fund owner David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital fund has also taken a similar stance against the electric carmaker. Despite this, data gathered by S3 Partners reveal that short-sellers have lost about $4.70 billion on a net basis since the beginning of 2016, making Tesla the 4th-worst performing US short bet.
While Tesla stock has exhibited its usual volatility over the past few months, some short-sellers have started feeling the pressure as the electric car maker continues to make progress in its efforts to grow and become profitable. During the second quarter, Tesla short-seller David Einhorn revealed in a recent note to clients that Greenlight Capital has incurred losses of 5.4%, bringing the fund’s total losses from January to June to 18.3%. According to Einhorn’s note, his firm stance against Tesla was a significant factor in Greenlight’s heavy losses, particularly during Q2 when TSLA shares rose 29%.
Einhorn, however, maintained in his note that Greenlight Capital would continue to take a short stance against Tesla. Einhorn noted that he doubts the Model 3 could be “produced profitably anytime soon, if ever,” even if “right now, the market is telling us we are wrong, wrong, wrong about nearly everything.”
Tesla’s rally on Thursday came as the electric car maker beat Wall Street’s revenue estimates by posting $4 billion in revenue. These results were augmented by a successful earnings call that saw the company reiterate its stance on profitability in the coming quarters. During the call, Tesla’s executives, led by a more restrained Elon Musk, discussed the company’s plans for the near future, including its intent to forego a capital raise to fund Gigafactory 3 in China. Other updates, such as the Model 3’s strong demand, were also discussed.
Disclosure: I have no ownership in shares of TSLA and have no plans to initiate any positions within 72 hours.
Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) has landed an elusive “must own” status from Wall Street firm Melius, according to a new note released early this week.
Analyst Rob Wertheimer said Tesla will lead the charge in world-changing tech, given the company’s focus on self-driving, autonomy, and Robotaxi. In a note to investors, Wertheimer said “the world is about to change, dramatically,” because of the advent of self-driving cars.
He looks at the industry and sees many potential players, but the firm says there will only be one true winner:
“Our point is not that Tesla is at risk, it’s that everybody else is.”
The major argument is that autonomy is nearing a tipping point where years of chipping away at the software and data needed to develop a sound, safe, and effective form of autonomous driving technology turn into an avalanche of progress.
Wertheimer believes autonomy is a $7 trillion sector,” and in the coming years, investors will see “hundreds of billions in value shift to Tesla.”
A lot of the major growth has to do with the all-too-common “butts in seats” strategy, as Wertheimer believes that only a fraction of people in the United States have ridden in a self-driving car. In Tesla’s regard, only “tens of thousands” have tried Tesla’s latest Full Self-Driving (Supervised) version, which is v14.
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2 – Full Review, the Good and the Bad
When it reaches a widespread rollout and more people are able to experience Tesla Full Self-Driving v14, he believes “it will shock most people.”
Citing things like Tesla’s massive data pool from its vehicles, as well as its shift to end-to-end neural nets in 2021 and 2022, as well as the upcoming AI5 chip, which will be put into a handful of vehicles next year, but will reach a wider rollout in 2027, Melius believes many investors are not aware of the pace of advancement in self-driving.
Tesla’s lead in its self-driving efforts is expanding, Wertheimer says. The company is making strategic choices on everything from hardware to software, manufacturing, and overall vehicle design. He says Tesla has left legacy automakers struggling to keep pace as they still rely on outdated architectures and fragmented supplier systems.
Tesla shares are up over 6 percent at 10:40 a.m. on the East Coast, trading at around $416.
Investor's Corner
Tesla analyst maintains $500 PT, says FSD drives better than humans now
The team also met with Tesla leaders for more than an hour to discuss autonomy, chip development, and upcoming deployment plans.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) received fresh support from Piper Sandler this week after analysts toured the Fremont Factory and tested the company’s latest Full Self-Driving software. The firm reaffirmed its $500 price target, stating that FSD V14 delivered a notably smooth robotaxi demonstration and may already perform at levels comparable to, if not better than, average human drivers.
The team also met with Tesla leaders for more than an hour to discuss autonomy, chip development, and upcoming deployment plans.
Analysts highlight autonomy progress
During more than 75 minutes of focused discussions, analysts reportedly focused on FSD v14’s updates. Piper Sandler’s team pointed to meaningful strides in perception, object handling, and overall ride smoothness during the robotaxi demo.
The visit also included discussions on updates to Tesla’s in-house chip initiatives, its Optimus program, and the growth of the company’s battery storage business. Analysts noted that Tesla continues refining cost structures and capital expenditure expectations, which are key elements in future margin recovery, as noted in a Yahoo Finance report.
Analyst Alexander Potter noted that “we think FSD is a truly impressive product that is (probably) already better at driving than the average American.” This conclusion was strengthened by what he described as a “flawless robotaxi ride to the hotel.”
Street targets diverge on TSLA
While Piper Sandler stands by its $500 target, it is not the highest estimate on the Street. Wedbush, for one, has a $600 per share price target for TSLA stock.
Other institutions have also weighed in on TSLA stock as of late. HSBC reiterated a Reduce rating with a $131 target, citing a gap between earnings fundamentals and the company’s market value. By contrast, TD Cowen maintained a Buy rating and a $509 target, pointing to strong autonomous driving demonstrations in Austin and the pace of software-driven improvements.
Stifel analysts also lifted their price target for Tesla to $508 per share over the company’s ongoing robotaxi and FSD programs.
Investor's Corner
Tesla wins $508 price target from Stifel as Robotaxi rollout gains speed
The firm cited meaningful progress in Tesla’s robotaxi roadmap, ongoing Full Self-Driving enhancements, and the company’s long-term growth initiatives.
Tesla received another round of bullish analyst updates this week, led by Stifel, raising its price target to $508 from $483 while reaffirming a “Buy” rating. The firm cited meaningful progress in Tesla’s robotaxi roadmap, ongoing Full Self-Driving enhancements, and the company’s long-term growth initiatives.
Robotaxi rollout, FSD updates, and new affordable cars
Stifel expects Tesla’s robotaxi fleet to expand into 8–10 major metropolitan areas by the end of 2025, including Austin, where early deployments without safety drivers are targeted before year-end. Additional markets under evaluation include Nevada, Florida, and Arizona, as noted in an Investing.com report. The firm also highlighted strong early performance for FSD Version 14, with upcoming releases adding new “reasoning capabilities” designed to improve complex decision-making using full 360-degree vision.
Tesla has also taken steps to offset the loss of U.S. EV tax credits by launching the Model Y Standard and Model 3 Standard at $39,990 and $36,990, Stifel noted. Both vehicles deliver more than 300 miles of range and are positioned to sustain demand despite shifting incentives. Stifel raised its EBITDA forecasts to $14.9 billion for 2025 and $19.5 billion for 2026, assigning partial valuation weightings to Tesla’s FSD, robotaxi, and Optimus initiatives.
TD Cowen also places an optimistic price target
TD Cowen reiterated its Buy rating with a $509 price target after a research tour of Giga Texas, citing production scale and operational execution as key strengths. The firm posted its optimistic price target following a recent Mobility Bus tour in Austin. The tour included a visit to Giga Texas, which offered fresh insights into the company’s operations and prospects.
Additional analyst movements include Truist Securities maintaining its Hold rating following shareholder approval of Elon Musk’s compensation plan, viewing the vote as reducing leadership uncertainty.
@teslarati Tesla Full Self-Driving yields for pedestrians while human drivers do not…the future is here! #tesla #teslafsd #fullselfdriving ♬ 2 Little 2 Late – Levi & Mario
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