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<ul><li>Shares of <keyword id="10485511" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="xl-fleet">XL Fleet</keyword> tumbled as much as 20% on Wednesday as Carson Block of Muddy Waters Research revealed he was short the company.</li><li>Block said that conversations with former XL Fleet employees revealed "a collection of exaggerations, half-truths, and mistruths."</li><li>"This is a SPAC bubble, where all kinds of garbage is being foisted on the public <keyword id="31671" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="markets">markets</keyword> and that XL is middle of the fairway SPAC garbage," Block said.</li><li><a href="https://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/4np/10-things-opening-bell?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingestedium=ingest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sign up here for our daily newsletter, 10 Things Before the Opening Bell</a>.</li></ul><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/xl-stock">XL Fleet</a> fell as much as 20% on Wednesday as short-seller Carson Block of Muddy Waters Research <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-promotion-and-bullshit-carson-block-breaks-down-his-new-short-2021-3">revealed he was short the hybrid-truck company.</a>In <a href="https://www.muddywatersresearch.com/research/xl/mw-is-short-xl/">a report released on Wednesday,</a> Block alleged that XL Fleet is misleading investors with an inflated sales backlog. Much of Block's research was based off of conversations with former employees of the company.XL Fleet transforms gas-powered vehicles into hybrids, and it went public late last year via a reverse merger with a SPAC at a valuation of about $1 billion. But Block thinks shares are overvalued based off of its Series D financing that valued the company at around $73 million. The company currently trades at a valuation of about $2 billion."I can't believe they're a public traded company. I'm literally dumbfounded that this actually happened," a former XL Fleet employee told Block.Since hitting an all-time-high of $35 shortly after it completed its SPAC merger in late December, shares of XL Fleet have plummeted as much as 63%.And Block isn't constructive on SPACs broadly as they continue to flood the market, according to an interview with <a href="https://www.zer0es.tv/">Zer0es.tv</a> seen by Insider."This is a SPAC bubble, where all kinds of garbage is being foisted on the public markets and that XL - at least in our view - middle of the fairway SPAC garbage," Block said.<div type="image" title="xlfleet.JPG" height="550" width="668" msid="81320974" hostid="261"></div>

XL Fleet slumps 20% as famed investor Carson Block goes short, says the market is in a SPAC bubble full of 'garbage'

<ul><li>Shares of <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/xl-stock">XL Fleet</a> jumped as much as 68% on Wednesday during the company's second day of trading after merging with special purpose acquisition company Pivotal Investment Corporation II.</li><li><keyword id="10485511" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="xl-fleet">XL Fleet</keyword> transforms existing commercial vehicles like small trucks into electric vehicles. The company says it makes vehicles cleaner and more fuel efficient without compromising operations. </li><li>Shares of XL fleet traded around $25 Wednesday afternoon after hitting an intraday high of $28.68. </li><li>XL Fleet is the latest company to go public through a blank check company during what <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/spacs-raised-73-billion-more-than-traditional-ipos-blank-checks-2020-12-1029906693">Goldman Sachs is calling the "year of the SPAC."</a> </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/international?r=US&amp;IR=T?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingestm=ingest">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/xl-stock">Shares of XL Fleet</a> jumped as much as 68% on Wednesday during the company's second day of trading after merging with special purpose acquisition company Pivotal Investment Corporation II. XL Fleet transforms existing commercial vehicles like small trucks into EVs. Before going public, the company already electrified commercial vehicles from auto giants like Ford, Chevrolet, and GMC. XL Fleet received approximately $350 million in cash proceeds from the <keyword id="1817616" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="SPAC">SPAC</keyword> merger. According to a <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201222005189/en/XL-Fleet-a-Leader-in-Commercial-Vehicle-Electrification-and-Pivotal-Investment-Corporation-II-Announce-Closing-of-Merger-XL-Fleet-to-Trade-on-NYSE-as-%E2%80%9CXL%E2%80%9D">statement</a>, the funds will be used to advance XL Fleet's electrification goals and develop solutions to electrify larger commercial trucks. The statement also said XL Fleet has plans to expand internationally.Shares of XL fleet traded around $25 Wednesday afternoon after hitting an intraday high of $28.68. Read more:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-market-sell-off-charles-schwab-strategist-warns-pullback-sonders-2020-12">Charles Schwab's chief investment strategist warns 'extreme' investor sentiment is putting the market at risk of a pullback - and shares 4 trades to drive returns in 2021</a>"As the leader in commercial fleet electrification, XL Fleet turns many of the most popular class 2-6 vehicles from Ford, Chevrolet, GMC and Isuzu into hybrid and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, without disrupting their performance," the <a href="https://xlfleet.com/vehicles/">company website</a> reads. "We make them cleaner and more fuel efficient while leaving the OEM powertrain (engine, transmission, fuel and exhaust systems) completely intact. It's a simple way to improve vehicle MPG and meet sustainability goals without compromising your operations."XL Fleet is the latest company to go public through a blank check company during what <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/spacs-raised-73-billion-more-than-traditional-ipos-blank-checks-2020-12-1029906693">Goldman Sachs is calling the "year of the SPAC."</a> According to a Goldman note last week, 219 SPACs have raised $73 billion in proceeds in 2020. That outpaces traditional IPOs by $6 billion. The transaction was approved by Pivotal's stockholders on Monday. The combined company, XL Fleet Corp, started trading on the the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday listed under the ticker symbols "XL" and "XL WS."

XL Fleet jumps 68% after EV company goes public via SPAC

<ul><li>The number of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nikola-fisker-canoo-rejecting-method-tesla-uber-ipo-2020-9https://www.businessinsider.com/nikola-fisker-canoo-rejecting-method-tesla-uber-ipo-2020-9">electric vehicle SPACs</a> may rise in the years to come as the world pivots to full EV adoption and looks for ways to raise money to fund the transition that could cost up to $2.5 trillion, according to <keyword id="6374849" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="bank-of-america">Bank of America</keyword>. </li><li>2020 saw a boom in <keyword id="10592173" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="electric-vehicle-spacs">electric vehicle SPACs</keyword>, with companies including <keyword id="1192755" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nikola">Nikola</keyword>, Fisker, and XL Fleet all going public via a reverse merger with a special-purpose acquisition company. </li><li>BofA said the recent <keyword id="10592172" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="spac-boom">SPAC boom</keyword> indicates that there is a lot of capital waiting to be deployed for companies participating in the "electrification revolution." </li><li>"With this in mind, we would expect the EV <keyword id="1817616" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="SPAC">SPAC</keyword> boom and capital raises for newer EV companies to continue in 2021+" BofA added. </li><li><a href="https://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/4np/10-things-opening-bell?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingestm=ingest">Sign up here our daily newsletter, 10 Things Before the Opening Bell.</a></li></ul>The number of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nikola-fisker-canoo-rejecting-method-tesla-uber-ipo-2020-9https://www.businessinsider.com/nikola-fisker-canoo-rejecting-method-tesla-uber-ipo-2020-9">electric vehicle SPACs</a> may rise in the years to come as the world pivots to full EV adoption and looks for ways to raise money to fund the transition, according to Bank of America. "The Auto industry is reaching an inflection point for electric vehicles, but funding this revolution is a tremendous hurdle," a team of BofA strategists led by John Murphy said in a note on Wednesday.BofA estimates that the transition towards 100% electrification could require over $2.5 trillion of investment around the globe over the next decade. One way to raise that capital could be through a SPAC. 2020 was a banner year for electric vehicle SPACs. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/nkla-stock">Nikola</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-story-of-the-3-billion-fisker-apollo-spac-deal-2020-11">Fisker</a>, <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/ride-stock">Lordstown Motors</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/canoo-stock-price-apple-talks-electric-vehicle-ev-investment-2021-1">Canoo</a>, and <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/xl-fleet-stock-price-spac-electric-vehicle-public-trading-ford-2020-12-1029917599">XL Fleet Corp</a> were just some of the companies that went public via a reverse merger with a special-purpose acquisition company in 2020. According to BofA, over $6 billion so far has been raised so far via <keyword id="10592174" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ev-spacs">EV SPACs</keyword>. Although that amount is nowhere near the $2.5 trillion capital goal, the recent SPAC boom indicates that there is a lot of external capital waiting to be deployed for companies participating in the "electrification revolution," said BofA."With this in mind, we would expect the EV SPAC boom and capital raises for newer EV companies to continue in 2021+" BofA added. Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spac-ev-fisker-nikola-canoo-arrival-lordstown-motors-2020-12">Wall Street has launched an electric car SPAC craze trying to find the next Tesla. Experts warn they're creating the next dot-com bubble.</a>The shift toward electrification raises the question as to whether incumbent auto equipment manufacturers or new entrants will be see the biggest investments in the race to electrify. Bank of America says newer EV entrants, and those who could use a SPAC money to raise capital, may have an advantage. "A key competitive advantage currently being afforded to the newer EV entrants versus the incumbent OEMs/suppliers is unfettered access to low-cost capital to fund product development, capacity installation/expansion, and other business efforts, as illustrated by the SPAC boom and TSLA's constant capital raises," said the strategists.Other sources of this capital to meet the $2.5 trillion goal will include internal funding within existing auto suppliers, other forms external capital raising outside of SPACs, and government funding, said BofA. For example, the proposed Green New Deal in the US could be a harbinger of possible support to come, though the $2.5 trillion estimate is an approximation for capital required around the globe, not just in the US, the strategists said. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uk-ban-sale-new-gas-diesel-cars-vehicles-2030-2020-11">In the United Kingdom, the sale of new gas and diesel-powered vehicles will be outlawed in 2030, as part of the country's "green industrial revolution" plan.</a> The plan also involves a roughly $1.7 billion investment in new private and public charging stations, and $774 million in grants to incentivize buyers of zero-emission and low-emission vehicles, in another example of government funding that could help drive the transition to a world with 100% electric vehicles.Read more:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-doordash-tried-to-reinvent-going-public-and-went-wrong-2020-12" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Inside a failed attempt to reinvent the IPO process with Airbnb and DoorDash</a>

The electric vehicle SPAC boom is likely to continue as over $2.5 trillion is needed to make a full transition to EVs, BofA says

<ul><li>Short-seller <keyword id="1458924" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Carson-Block">Carson Block</keyword> revealed why he will never bet against <keyword id="107096" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Tesla">Tesla</keyword> and <keyword id="6355315" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="elon-musk">Elon Musk</keyword> in a letter to investors on Wednesday.</li><li>As Tesla shorts focused on its lack of scale in car production relative to competitors, the company managed to scale its capital base to $700 billion.</li><li>Block has criticized Musk over the years for lying to investors, but recently came to the realization that "a certain amount of bullsh*t is necessary, even desirable in life."</li><li><a href="https://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/4np/10-things-opening-bell?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingestets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sign up here for our daily newsletter, 10 Things Before the Opening Bell</a>.</li></ul>Short-seller Carson Block of <keyword id="278479" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Muddy-Waters">Muddy Waters</keyword> will never bet against <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/tsla-stock">Tesla</a> or Elon Musk, according to a Wednesday investor letter viewed by Insider.While Block has publicly criticized Musk over the years for lying to investors, he has come to the realization that "a certain amount of bullsh*t is necessary, even desirable in life," according to the letter.Block had previously held an out of the money put position in Tesla funded by coupons from Tesla bonds he had purchased. But the trade went south in 2019 after Musk "pulled the requisite rabbits out of the hat," Block said.While Tesla short-sellers often focus on Tesla's lack of scale in car production relative to legacy competitors, the electric vehicle company managed to scale its capital base to $700 billion, which gives the company plenty of optionality in terms of raising billions of more dollars to fund its business."All those years of lying (e.g. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tesla-private-one-year-anniversary-2019-8">"funding secured"</a>), wars with <keyword id="601670" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="short-sellers">short sellers</keyword> that we assumed were driven only by his [Musk's] pathological narcissism, and trampling rules he found inconvenient have given Tesla capital base scale. With Tesla having an enterprise of ~$700 billion, it has far more capital scale than any competitor," Block explained.And as some short-sellers still believe reality will shatter Tesla's fragile market valuation, in fact the company should have no problem raising many billions before its valuation becomes "sub-scale," Block said.But that's not the case for other electric vehicle company's that Block is skeptical of, including <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/ride-stock">Lordstown Motors</a> and <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/nkla-stock">Nikola</a>. Block said <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/xl-fleet-stock-price-muddy-waters-carson-block-goes-short-2021-3">he remains short XL Fleet,</a> according to the letter."The market cap, the luster, the elan of Elon, is still there," Block concluded. Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stocks-to-buy-5-short-squeeze-august-8-candidates-picks-fintel-2021-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">These 5 stocks offer the most short-squeeze potential for retail investors this week, according to Fintel</a>

Short-seller Carson Block reveals why he'll never bet against Tesla

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The air may be coming out of the <keyword id="1817616" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="SPAC">SPAC</keyword> market, with last week marking the first week of 0 new debuts since March 2020, said Bespoke Investment Group. </li><li>The firm said 20 holdings in the SPAK ETF have lost roughly 50% or more since mid-February. </li><li>308 SPACs have raised $99.7 billion so far this year, according to SPAC Analytics. </li></ul>The boom in SPACs, or blank-check firms that merge with private companies to take them public, has collapsed with new issuances drying up, according to market research from Bespoke Investment Group.There has been no issuance so far this week and none last week, marking the longest SPAC drought since last March.SPACs have surged in popularity, in part as they allow private companies to bypass the traditional IPO process, which can be slower and more expensive, in favor of a quicker route to public <keyword id="31671" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="markets">markets</keyword>. The method of going public has been popular with many pre-revenue startups. Bespoke said since February, $23.4 billion in SPAC issuance has been priced, which is roughly the same as the volume for the last two weeks of February, and a "small fraction" of the $135 billion in the second half of last year through the end of February."Given the collapse in performance since late February, it's no surprise the register has stopped ringing," said Bespoke in a note published Tuesday.The firm noted that 20 <keyword id="6354298" type="DEFINITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Stocks">stocks</keyword> in the Defiance Next Gen SPAC Derived ETF that broadly tracks the SPAC space have lost about 50% or more since mid-February. Many of these are electric-vehicle and clean-energy names."Collectively, these stocks have seen their market cap fall from over $135 billion down to just $55 billion," said Bespoke.Among the biggest decliners, shares of <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/xl-stock">XL Fleet</a>, a company that converts commercial vehicles like small trucks into electric vehicles, and <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/eqos-stock">Diginex</a>, a Hong Kong-based digital financial services company, have each fallen by about 67%, while <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/ride-stock">Lordstown Motors shares</a> pulled back by 64%.So far in 2021, 308 SPACs have raised $99.7 billion, comprising 76% of all IPOs, according to <a href="https://www.spacanalytics.com/">SPAC Analytics</a>. In 2020, 248 SPACs raised $83.4 billion.In a SPAC Analytics list of top-performing SPACS, <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/prim-stock">Primoris</a>, a construction and engineering services provider, has logged a return of 672%, and sports-betting company <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/dkng-stock">DraftKings</a> has posted a return of 604%.A number of high-profile investors such as billionaire Chamath Palihapitiya and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman have been active in the space, and SPACs have lured famous non-Wall Street figures including ex-baseball player Alex Rodriguez, tennis star Serena Williams, and ex-House Speaker Paul Ryan.The Securities and Exchange Commission has reportedly launched an inquiry into the SPAC craze and a top regulator with the SEC recently warned about the jump in fundraising SPACs, according to a report by <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/sec-official-warns-on-growth-of-blank-check-firms-11617804892">The Wall Street Journal</a>.

There were no new SPAC debuts last week for the first time since March 2020, as signs point to the end of the blank-check craze

<ul><li>US <keyword id="6354298" type="DEFINITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Stocks">stocks</keyword> gained on Wednesday as President Trump said that he wants Congress to increase the stimulus checks included in the anticipated coronavirus relief deal to $2,000 from $600.</li><li>Democrats are on board with increasing the amount of direct payments to Americans, with House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi responding to Trump's demand with, "Let's do it!"</li><li>With a government shutdown deadline fast approaching and much of Congress home for the holidays, a swift passage of an altered stimulus deal seems unlikely.</li><li><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/indices">Watch major indexes update live here</a>.</li></ul>US stocks gained on Wednesday as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pressured Republicans to get on board with President Trump's request to increase the planned $600 stimulus checks included in the upcoming coronavirus relief package to $2,000.In a video announcement on Tuesday, Trump signaled he may veto the stimulus deal passed by Congress this week, expressing disappointment in the size of stimulus checks and other spending initiatives attached to the bill.Democrats were on board with Trump's request. House majority leader Nancy Pelosi responded by saying "Let's do it!" Pelosi is now putting pressure on the GOP to approve an amendment to the bill via unanimous consent, which is necessary given that most of Congress is already home for the holidays.Pelosi <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerPelosi/status/1341770086818918401">tweeted</a>, "Mr. President, sign the bill to keep government open! Urge McConnell and McCarthy to agree with the Democratic unanimous consent request for $2,000 direct payments! This can be done by noon on Christmas Eve!" Here's where US indexes stood after the 4:00 p.m. ET close on Wednesday:<ul><li><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/index/s&amp;p_500_500" target="_blank" rel="noopener">S&amp;P 500</a>: 3,689.98, up 0.07%</li><li><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/index/dow_jones" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dow Jones industrial average</a>: 30,129.47, up 0.38% (113.96 points)</li><li><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/index/nasdaq_composite" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nasdaq composite</a>: 12,771.11, down 0.29%</li></ul>Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-market-bubbles-burst-investing-predictions-tips-2021-roaring-20s-2020-12?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingestgest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">'It could be a Roaring 20s that will end badly': An equities chief who oversees over $7 billion shares his investing playbook and major predictions for 2021 and beyond</a><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/pfe-stock">Pfizer</a> and the US government reached <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pfizer-vaccine-trump-administration-extra-doses-2020-12">a new deal worth nearly $2 billion for 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses</a>. 70 million additional doses would be available to the US by the end of June 2021, with an additional 30 million doses available by the end of July 2021.Elon Musk revealed on <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/twtr-stock">Twitter</a> that during the darkest days of <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/tsla-stock">Tesla</a> amid the Model 3 ramp up, he reached out to <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/aapl-stock">Apple's</a> Tim Cook <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-wanted-apple-buy-tesla-tim-cook-meeting-2020-12">about a potential deal between the two companies,</a> but Cook wouldn't take the meeting.<a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/xl-fleet-stock-price-spac-electric-vehicle-public-trading-ford-2020-12-1029917599">XL Fleet jumped as much as 68%</a> after the electric vehicle company went public via SPAC on Tuesday.<a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/news/ripple-xrp-crypto-token-falls-after-sec-lawsuit-over-sales-2020-12-1029916783">Ripple's XRP token has fallen as much as 30%</a> after the SEC filed a lawsuit against the cryptocurrency firm for running a $1.3 billion unregistered offering.<a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/nikola-stock-price-ends-collaboration-electric-garbage-truck-republic-services-2020-12-1029917118">Nikola fell as much as 12% after it ended a collaboration with Republic Services</a> to develop and manufacture electric garbage trucks.Oil prices edged higher. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/oil-price?type=wti">West Texas Intermediate crude</a> jumped 2.13%, to $48.02 per barrel. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/oil-price?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingestts&amp;utm_medium=ingest">Brent crude</a>, oil's international benchmark, gained 2.14%, to $49.20 per barrel, at intraday lows.<a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/gold-price">Gold</a> rose 0.3%, to $1,875.90 per ounce.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-market-crash-expert-predicts-sell-off-2021-mark-yusko-2020-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A hedge fund chief who oversees $2 billion breaks down why we're in for a 61% stock-market crash over the next 18-24 months - and shares 3 types of companies he's shorting right now</a>

US stocks gain as Pelosi pressures Republicans to pass $2,000 stimulus checks

<ul><li>More and more short-sellers are beginning to turn their attention to SPACs, which have experienced a boom in 2021.</li><li>They've more than tripled their bets against SPACs to $2.7 billion since the beginning of the year, according to data from S3 Partners.</li><li>Recent SPACs that have been targets of high profile short-sellers include XL Fleet and Lordstown Motors, among others.</li><li><a href="https://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/4np/10-things-opening-bell?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingestm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sign up here for our daily newsletter, 10 Things Before the Opening Bell</a>.</li></ul><keyword id="1817616" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="SPAC">SPAC</keyword> IPOs have been all the rage since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and the trend has only accelerated in 2021. Now short-sellers are beginning to take notice.The group of investors has tripled bearish bets against SPACs to $2.7 billion, from $724 million at the start of the year, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/short-sellers-boost-bets-against-spacs-11615714200">data from S3 Partners</a> first reported by The Wall Street Journal.Short-sellers have a lot of SPACs to sift through, given that the $166 billion raised by SPACs in the first quarter of 2021 <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/spac-market-q1-statistics-volume-166-billion-growing-adoption-2021-3-1030194528">exceeds all of the SPAC deals formed in 2020.</a> But high-profile short-sellers seem to be having no problem finding their targets.Muddy Water's Carson Block released a report earlier this month on XL Fleet, a recent <keyword id="9575101" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="spac-ipo">SPAC IPO</keyword> that, according to Block, misled investors on an inflated revenue backlog for its retrofitted hybrid vehicles. The <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/xl-fleet-stock-price-muddy-waters-carson-block-goes-short-2021-3-1030147215">share price of XL Fleet has yet to recover</a> from Block's short report. Short-seller firm Hindenburg Research, which rose to fame last year after it released a damaging short-report on Nikola, has also had success targeting SPAC firms. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/lordstown-motors-stock-price-hindenburg-research-short-seller-electric-vehicle-2021-3-1030180360">Hindenburg released a report on Lordstown Motors</a> last week, alleging that the SPAC-merged company has "no revenue and no sellable product." Shares of Lordstown dipped more than 20% and have yet to recover from the decline. Even the SPACs led by billionaire investor Chamath Palihapitiya have been unable to avoid the scrutiny of short-sellers. Palihapitiya's recent Social Capital SPAC merger with fintech firm SoFi has more than 20% of its share float sold short, according to data from Finviz.Besides the underlying business concerns raised by short-sellers for SPACs, underlying trends in interest rates could be helping their bets against SPAC mergers. A majority of the companies going public via SPAC merger are not profitable, and don't forecast profitability until years down the road.The dearth of profits hasn't jived well with investors as interest rates have risen over the past few months, sparking a rotation out of high-tech growth companies and into cyclical stocks in the energy and financial sectors.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/investing-strategy-nft-outlook-crypto-art-artist-beeple-mike-winkelmann-2021-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">'It's been a motherf---ing rocket ride' : A top NFT artist who's sold over $60 million worth of crypto art breaks down how he's capitalizing on the sudden boom - and shares how he positions his own portfolio</a>

Short-sellers have tripled bets against SPACs since the start of 2021 amid fears the blank-check frenzy has gone too far

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Short-seller <keyword id="1458924" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Carson-Block">Carson Block</keyword> is placing more bets against <keyword id="4675570" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="SPACs">SPACS</keyword>, according to a Bloomberg report.</li><li>Block, in an interview with Bloomberg, called the <keyword id="1817616" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="SPAC">SPAC</keyword> market a "<keyword id="41357" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Scam">scam</keyword>" and said some retail investors will fall victim to them. </li><li>Block has wagered against some companies that have gone public via SPACs. </li></ul>Famed short-seller Carson Block is crafting more bets against more special purpose acquisition companies, according to a report, and warning that some retail investors will fall victim to the SPAC market that he describes as a "scam.""There are just so many that are dodgy," said Block, the CEO of investment research firm Muddy Waters Capital, in an <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-05/carson-block-steps-up-spac-attacks-citing-predatory-behavior?sref=GUP2BhaG">interview with Bloomberg on Monday.</a>"The market is a scam -- and it's here to stay," he said in a telephone interview with Bloomberg. He declined to identify his latest targets, the report said. It also quoted Block as saying that some retail investors will become victims of "predatory plays."<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-a-spac">SPACs </a>take companies public by acquiring or merging with them and are considered as a faster and less expensive alternative to a traditional IPO.Bloomberg noted that Block has recently bet against <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/xl-stock">XL Fleet Corp</a>., a company that transforms existing commercial vehicles like small trucks into electric vehicles. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/xl-fleet-stock-price-spac-electric-vehicle-public-trading-ford-2020-12-1029917599">XL Fleet went public late last year</a> through blank-check company Pivotal Investment Corporation II and its shares have dropped by nearly 70% since the start of 2021.He's also wagered against <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/mpln-stock">MultiPlan Corp</a>., a <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/warren-buffett-dealmaker-struck-11-billion-blank-check-multiplan-takeover-2020-7-1029413701?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingestgest">healthcare group that went public</a> through Churchill Capital III that is down about 25% this year, the report said. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/carson-block-tesla-spac-muddy-waters-2021-3">Block told Insider last month the SPAC boom</a> has given unscrupulous sponsors the opportunity to take advantage of investors, particularly in the electric-vehicle industry."One of the most effective ways of preying on unsophisticated retail [investors] seems to be doing SPACs in the EV space," Block said. The Securities and Exchange Commission <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/spac-sec-looking-wall-street-blank-check-craze-information-2021-3-1030245260">said last month it's "taking a hard look"</a> at the recent surge in SPACs and warned investors of the risks involved with celebrity-backed blank-check companies.

'The market is a scam': Famed short seller Carson Block says he's ramping up bets against 'predatory' SPACs

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">LufthansaA Lufthansa Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental jumbo jet.</div></div></div><ul><li>The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/boeing-747" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Boeing 747</a> jumbo jet's days as a passenger plane are numbered. In fact, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/boeing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Boeing</a> admits that the future of the 747 is as a cargo plane. </li><li>Over the past few years, many 747 operates have either retired or made plans to retire their jumbo jet fleets.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/airlines" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Airlines</a> have elected to go with smaller aircrafts from <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/airbus" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Airbus</a> and Boeing. </li></ul>The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-747-jet-ends-service-america-history-aircraft-2017-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">jumbo jet's days as a passenger plane are numbered</a>. The Boeing 747, once the go-to passenger jet for airlines around the world, is destined to live out its days as a cargo jet. "The future of the 747 is in the cargo business," <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-exec-says-the-747-jumbo-jets-future-will-be-as-a-private-jet-2018-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Boeing vice president of marketing Randy Tinseth told Business Insider</a> at the 2018 Farnborough International Airshow.According to Boeing, of 42,730 passenger jets customers are expected to order over the 20 years, only 60 will be aircraft similar in size to the jumbo jet. That works out to three Boeing 747-8s or Airbus A380s a year. And even then, they are mostly expected to be VIP transports, Tinseth said. Through July, Boeing has just 22 unfilled orders for the 747 and all of them are for the cargo variant. Over the past decade, Boeing did manage to sell 47 747-8 Intercontinental passenger jets that are currently in service with Air China, Korean Air, and Lufthansa. Korean Air and Lufthansa operate both the Boeing 747 and the rival A380 Superjumbo. According to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lufthansa-ceo-explains-how-swiss-austrian-eurowings-airlines-can-thrive-as-one-company-2018-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr</a>, the decision operate the 747 instead of smaller aircraft has to do with the amount of room the plane affords its premium cabin. "No airline in the world sells as many premium seats as Lufthansa," Spohr told us in a recent interview. "When we talk about an XL aircraft, we need 100 first and business class seats which nobody else has.""That's why we operate the 747-8 on routes where others operate the (Boeing) 777," Spohr added. Unfortunately, there are way more airlines retiring their 747 fleets than there are adding to them. Last year, both Delta and United Airlines sent their aging 747 fleets to the scrap yard - marking the first time in nearly five decades that no US network carrier will fly passengers in a jumbo jet. Smaller and more affordable <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-777-history-2017-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">twin-jets like the Boeing 777</a> have taken over as the industry's passenger carrying workhorses. Their ability to deliver great range and performance at a fraction of the 747's operating costs make them virtually unbeatable.The Boeing 747-8I lists for $402.9 million while the 747-8F is a few hundred grand more at $403.6 million. Sadly, this means the writing is on the wall. The Queen of the Skies will likely go out with a whimper rather than a bang. Here's a closer look at the planes airlines are using to replace the Boeing 747 jumbo jet:Get the latest Boeing stock price <a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/BA-Quote">here.</a>

Airlines are using these 5 planes to replace the Boeing 747 jumbo jet

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">James Glover / ReutersTesla CEO Elon Musk.</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Elon Musk on Wednesday said that Tesla is "obviously" making moves for its own rideshare service that would compete with companies like Uber and Lyft.</li><li>Musk says the service should launch <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tesla-network-ready-in-2019-2018-5">by the end of 2019</a>. It will let customers loan out their cars to users, as well as include a fleet of self-driving cars that can pick up passengers.</li><li>The comments were made when Musk was sharing updates on Tesla's third-quarter earnings, which <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-q3-earnings-revenue-model-3-2018-10">showed a surprising profit</a>.</li></ul>Elon Musk again hinted at an upcoming rideshare program Tesla is developing that would mix two hot trends in the automotive industry: ride-hailing services and self-driving cars.Tesla <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-driverless-ridesharing-plans-could-take-on-uber-2016-10">has mentioned plans</a> for such a service before, and Musk said in May it <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tesla-network-ready-in-2019-2018-5">would "probably" be ready</a> to launch by the end of 2019. On a Wednesday earnings call after Tesla reported its third-quarter earnings, Musk said his company's service would "compete directly with Uber and Lyft, obviously."But the major difference between the three service is that Musk's platform, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-driverless-ridesharing-plans-could-take-on-uber-2016-10">dubbed the Tesla Network</a>, would be entirely made up of autonomous cars. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tesla-network-ready-in-2019-2018-5">Tesla will provide</a> its own fleet of company-owned cars for customers to hail, as well as maintain a network of Tesla owners who can make money by lending out their cars for use and recalling them for personal use at will (like home-sharing service Airbnb).There are competitors out there that are planning their own ride-hailing services for self-driving cars - both Waymo and General Motors <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tesla-network-ready-in-2019-2018-5">have made known</a> their intentions. However, Musk said in May that Tesla would use cameras and radar instead of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-wrong-about-self-driving-strategy-needs-lidar-experts-2018-9">LiDAR sensors</a>, which use laser light to measure the car's distance from other objects on the road.Tesla has yet to develop full self-driving software, as it <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-may-lose-to-apple-amazon-and-waymo-in-self-driving-taxis-2018-10">races other major companies</a> investing in the technology, including Apple, Amazon, General Motor's Cruise, Intel's Mobileye, and Alphabet's Waymo (<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/waymo-cruise-mobileye-and-tesla-approaches-to-self-driving-cars-2018-10">just to name a few</a>).Tesla does have its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/waymo-cruise-mobileye-and-tesla-approaches-to-self-driving-cars-2018-10#tesla-has-the-largest-fleet-of-semi-autonomous-cars-on-the-road-but-thus-far-it-hasnt-entered-the-ride-hailing-business-4">Autopilot system</a>, with semi-autonomous driving capabilities. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-said-tesla-customers-confused-about-self-driving-hardware-2018-10">Up until last week</a>, Tesla was selling "full self-driving hardware" on its site, which would give customers access to these capabilities as soon as the software become available and had regulatory approval. But customers were confused about the difference between the two, so Tesla removed the full self-driving option from its website.<h3>More from Tesla's third-quarter earnings:</h3><ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-q3-earnings-revenue-model-3-2018-10">Tesla reports surprise profit in 'truly historic' quarter</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-said-tesla-customers-confused-about-self-driving-hardware-2018-10">Elon Musk said Tesla stopped selling 'full self-driving' hardware online because customers were confused</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/teslas-deposits-decreased-during-q3-despite-record-breaking-profit-2018-10">Tesla's car deposits decreased during the third quarter, even though it posted a surprise profit</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-start-making-cars-china-factory-2019-2018-10">Tesla will start making cars at its upcoming factory in China faster than expected</a></li></ul> Get the latest Tesla stock price<a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/TSLA-Quote"> here.</a> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/review-google-pixel-3-better-than-iphone-xs-2018-10">Review: Google Pixel 3 and 3 XL are the best smartphones you can buy right now</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

You Searched For "xl fleet stock" and got 10 results

XL Fleet slumps 20% as famed investor Carson Block goes short, says the market is in a SPAC bubble full of 'garbage'

Matthew Fox

XL Fleet jumps 68% after EV company goes public via SPAC

Emily Graffeo

The electric vehicle SPAC boom is likely to continue as over $2.5 trillion is needed to make a full transition to EVs, BofA says

Emily Graffeo

Short-seller Carson Block reveals why he'll never bet against Tesla

Matthew Fox

There were no new SPAC debuts last week for the first time since March 2020, as signs point to the end of the blank-check craze

Carla Mozée

US stocks gain as Pelosi pressures Republicans to pass $2,000 stimulus checks

Matthew Fox

Short-sellers have tripled bets against SPACs since the start of 2021 amid fears the blank-check frenzy has gone too far

Matthew Fox

'The market is a scam': Famed short seller Carson Block says he's ramping up bets against 'predatory' SPACs

Carla Mozée

Airlines are using these 5 planes to replace the Boeing 747 jumbo jet

Benjamin Zhang

Elon Musk talked more about his plans for a ride-sharing service for Tesla self-driving cars, which he says will 'obviously' rival Uber and Lyft

Paige Leskin

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