--- title: "Short Sellers Are Making a Fortune as Tesla’s Stock Collapses" description: "Investors who were shorting Tesla — betting against its success, basically — were on track to reap roughly $1.4 billion in profits." date: "2025-07-08" modified: "2025-07-08" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/short-sellers-fortune-tesla-stock-collapse" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Tesla" tags: - "elon musk" - "short sellers" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Short Sellers Are Making a Fortune as Tesla’s Stock Collapses ![Investors who were shorting Tesla — betting against its success, basically — were on track to reap roughly $1.4 billion in profits.]() *\Image: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images\* ## Short Cake Tesla short sellers are making bank after CEO Elon Musk announced that he's doubling down on creating his own political party in the US, further shredding the brand and its tattered valuation. The company's shares slumped nearly seven percent on Monday, wiping out more than $68 billion in market cap. Investors who were shorting the EV maker — betting against its success, basically — were on track to reap roughly $1.4 billion in profits, [*Reuters* reports](). Traders were spooked by Musk [announcing]() that he was launching an "America Party," a declaration of war designed to counter both Democrats and his friends-turned-enemies in the Republican Party. "When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste and graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy," he [tweeted]() over the weekend. However, [investors were furious](), questioning his commitment to leading the carmaker. Tesla has already suffered greatly under Musk's absentee leadership style. His embrace of far-right extremist ideologies before and during his tenure as the unofficial lead of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency has dragged the company's brand through the mud, eviscerating [sales]() and [leaving a massive hole]() in the company's finances. ## Going Short Meanwhile, short sellers are seemingly having the last laugh. On June 5, Musk's erupting feud with president Donald Trump led to Tesla's shares plunging 14 percent, an all-time record. That day alone, short sellers made over $4 billion in profits, per *Reuters*. Between January and April of this year, those who bet on a decline in the company's stock price generated a [whopping $11.5 billion in profits](). Besides abysmal financials and plummeting sales, the company's long-awaited launch of a robotaxi service has been [mired in technical difficulties]() and [terrifying close calls](). The reality that short sellers are making billions likely won't sit well with the carmaker's controversial leader. For many years now, Musk has been infuriated by investors betting against Tesla. "Shorting is a scam," he [tweeted]() in 2021, in the midst of the [Wall Street Bets saga](). "Legal only for vestigial reasons." **More on Tesla:** *[Reckless Footage Shows Tesla Robotaxi Careening Through Heavy Rain at High Speed]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()