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Tesla’s Brutal Year Brings $17 Billion Windfall for Shorts

  • It is the most profitable short trade of the year: S3 Partners
  • The stock is down 65% this year through Thursday’s close
A Tesla Supercharger station in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

A Tesla Supercharger station in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Photographer: Taehoon Kim/Bloomberg
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After years of stinging losses, investors betting against Tesla Inc. are finally reaping the windfall they’ve been expecting.

With Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk — and some of his top lieutenants — distracted by his Twitter foray and demand for Tesla’s electric vehicles cooling, the stock is careening toward its worst annual slump on record. This is handing short sellers, or bearish investors who are wagering that the stock will decline, mark-to-market profits of about $17 billion, making Tesla the most profitable short trade of the year, data from S3 Partners shows.