Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press
- Short interest, or bets that Tesla's stock price will decline, hit another record this week.
- Tesla rose more than 5% in trading Tuesday, continuing a winning streak that has short sellers feeling the pain.
- Follow Tesla's stock price in real-time here.
As Tesla shares gained more than 20% in the past two weeks, investors betting against the stock kept ratcheting up their losing wagers.
Short interest in Tesla, the most bet-against stock in the US, hit a new record this week of $12.6 billion, according to data from financial analytics firm S3 Partners. That's a 17% increase since May 21, when the previous record was nearly $2 billion less, at $11 billion.
Since then, Tesla shares have screamed higher, blowing through the $300 resistance level after CEO Elon Musk re-affirmed his commitment to getting the automaker to profitability and hitting Model 3 production targets.
Over the weekend, Musk tweeted new details about a rocket booster addition to the "SpaceX version" of the upcoming Tesla Roadster. The tweets seemed to distract investors and provided support for shares as a former executive testified Monday at a California labor relations hearing that he was fired after raising concerns about unreported workplace injuries. Tesla has denied his allegations.
Recent gains bring Tesla well above the average target price of $317 for the first time in months. Major Wall Street firms have swayed from their once-bullish tone as concerns about Tesla's ability to turn a profit and live without a cash infusion weigh on investors' minds.
The stock is up 10% this year.
