SpaceX’s Short Position Surpasses Tesla, with a Short Interest of $23.6 Billion

August 3rd, according to S3 Partners data, the short interest in SpaceX has continued to rise since its listing. The current nominal short interest amount is approximately $23.6 billion, surpassing Tesla's $22 billion, making it one of the largest targets of bearish bets in the US stock market.

The data shows that investors are currently shorting about 206 million shares of SpaceX, accounting for approximately 32.2% of the company's public float. Market shorts are betting on SpaceX's upcoming first quarterly earnings report since going public, as well as the potential stock price pressure from this week's initiation of the internal shareholder lock-up expiration.

When SpaceX went public in June, the short interest was only about 40 million shares, representing about 5% to 7% of the public float. As the stock price plummeted, short positions rapidly increased. Since the first trading day on June 12th, SpaceX's market value has shrunk by over $500 billion, with the stock price dropping more than 50% from its intraday high.

According to Bernstein data, this week's initial lock-up expiration will allow around 20% to 30% of restricted insider shares to be sold. Subsequently, 7% of the total shares outstanding will be unlocked in phases by October, followed by another round of unlocking after the third-quarter earnings report, and further releases after the 180-day lock-up period expires.

Bernstein predicts that by December, the public float of SpaceX may rise to around 40% of the total shares outstanding. Analysts state that some investors are temporarily reluctant to buy SpaceX shares based on fundamentals due to the ongoing unlocking pressure.

The market is also watching SpaceX's post-market debut first quarterly earnings report on Tuesday, evaluating the company's actual performance in rocket launches, Starlink, and AI business.