Tesla taunts short-sellers by selling 'short shorts'

Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk took a swipe at short-sellers by listing “short shorts” on the company’s website.

Musk has from time to time expressed dismay with investors who bet against his company. In 2018, he sent a box of short shorts to hedge fund manager David Einhorn and last November offered to send him more.

The red satin shorts with gold trim, available for $69.42, feature a Tesla logo on the front left side and have “S3XY” written across the back. The 420 is a possible reference to the share price at which Musk said he had secured funding to take the company private, leading to a lawsuit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

“Enjoy exceptional comfort from the closing bell,” the website said.

Shares of the Palo Alto, California-based electric-car maker have soared 189 percent this year, finishing at a record high $1,208.66 apiece on Thursday, a day after the company announced strong deliveries despite having to shut factories due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
TSLA	TESLA INC.	357.09	+11.93	+3.46%

The soaring stock has caused short-sellers, or those betting the share price will fall, to scramble to close out their positions.

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Short interest in Tesla shares was 15.14 million, or 10.27 percent of shares available for trading, as of June 15, according to Dow Jones Market Data. That was down from a record 43.664 million in May 2019, when the stock was trading near $185.