---
title: "Elon Musk Doubles Down on Wall Street Bets: “Shorting Is a Scam”"
description: "Elon Musk's latest comments clarify that he's also drawn to the controversy because of its punishing effect on short sellers."
date: "2021-01-29"
modified: "2021-01-29"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-wall-street-bets-shorting-scam"
categories:
  - "Elon Musk"
  - "Future Society"
  - "The Industrialists"
tags:
  - "elon musk"
  - "tesla"
  - "the digest"
  - "wall street bets"
---

# Elon Musk Doubles Down on Wall Street Bets: “Shorting Is a Scam”

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/vestigial.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Futurism\</em\>*

## Stonk Honk

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk took a break from [feuding with the FAA](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-lashes-faa-scrubbing-starship-launch>) yesterday afternoon to weigh in again on the [ongoing Wall Street Bets saga](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/politicians-slam-robinhood-wall-street-bets>), writing that "shorting is a scam" which is, in his opinion, "legal only for vestigial reasons."

His [entire tweet](<https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1354890601649610753>) is written in a middle school-esque patois — here's the raw version:

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/musk_short.jpg>)

## Short History

This isn't the first time Musk has waded into the controversy surrounding the Wall Street Bets community on Reddit, which exploded into public view this week by pushing the value of several specific stocks vastly above expectations.

Musk has a tendency to side with memesters and underdogs, which clearly explains part of his affinity for the amateur traders on Wall Street Bets, who are [upsetting the conventions of finance](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/reddit-cofounder-wall-street-bets-revolution>).

But his latest comments clarify that he's also drawn to the controversy because of its [punishing effect on short sellers](<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/27/business/gamestop-wall-street-bets.html>) — financiers who are betting, essentially, on a specific stock sliding down in value.

## Tesla Connection

The mercurial CEO's aversion to short sellers is [well documented](<https://futurism.com/tesla-short-sellers-investors-elon-musk>), and intimately connected to his time at electric carmaker Tesla. Basically, he has [repeated blamed](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-blames-crash-reports-short-sellers>) the company's woes on investors who he says have bet against its success — and [delighted in outperforming their expectations](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-richest-person-earth>).

At one point, Tesla's online store even [listed a pair of short shorts](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/tesla-naughty-short-shorts>), in a tongue-in-cheek rebuttal of the practice.

What we know for sure: Musk is sticking to his guns in his war against short sellers, even when the battle takes him outside the boundaries of his own business interests.

**More on Tesla:** *[Tesla Is Now Worth More Than ExxonMobil](<https://futurism.com/tesla-worth-more-exxonmobil>)*

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)