When a Tesla Critic Becomes a Fan

Photo of Douglas A. McIntyre
By Douglas A. McIntyre Updated Published
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.
When a Tesla Critic Becomes a Fan

© Ewais / Shutterstock.com

One primary reason Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) shares have been under siege is the huge short position in the stock. Investors have been willing to bet on Elon Musk’s volatility as a chance to make money when the stock slips. Some have long-term pessimism about whether Tesla can survive in a world in which positive cash flow and a strong balance sheet are necessary to compete with industry giants. But Tesla got a hand in the short selling part of its problem as a major critic changed his mind.

In a press release, one firm that has argued Tesla cannot survive, wrote: “Citron reverses opinion on Tesla. The story has become too compelling to ignore.” Citron’s new thesis is that Tesla has taken so much of the luxury industry market share that its future is assured.

The firm also argued that Tesla’s new Model 3 will come to dominate the mid-level of the luxury car market. Additionally, its higher-end Model S continues to sell very well. Finally:

Lastly, and this now seems obvious, but Tesla appears to be the only company that can actually produce and sell electric cars. If you would have shown us the below chart five years ago there is no way we would have ever believed it. It looks like it is the competition that is taking the Ambien.

[nativounit]

This is not entirely true. Most of the world’s largest car companies have competing products, or will shortly. Some of these vehicles are being designed in partnerships with tech companies that may have more tools than old-line manufacturers who want to successfully enter the business.

Tesla is expected to announce earnings later today. That report will be an early indication of whether Citron is right.

[recirclink id=500662]

[wallst_email_signup]

Photo of Douglas A. McIntyre
About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.

Continue Reading

Top Gaining Stocks

CBOE Vol: 1,568,143
PSKY Vol: 12,285,993
STX Vol: 7,378,346
ORCL Vol: 26,317,675
DDOG Vol: 6,247,779

Top Losing Stocks

LKQ
LKQ Vol: 4,367,433
CLX Vol: 13,260,523
SYK Vol: 4,519,455
MHK Vol: 1,859,865
AMGN Vol: 3,818,618