Tesla Shorts’ $8 Billion Loss Supercharges Elon Musk With $4 Billion
- Since mid-last year, Tesla’s stock is up by nearly three times raising the market cap to close to $100 billion.
- In 2020 the stock is up nearly 30%, boosting Elon Musk’s wealth by over $4 billion.
- New models and expansion into China could boost Tesla even further.
Since his musician girlfriend Grimes teased a baby bump , Elon Musk has another bump to report too – a wealth bump.
Fifteen days into 2020, the Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO’s stake in the electric car maker has swelled by an average of $250 million per day to $2.5 billion! Consequently, Musk is now a member of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index’s top 30 club . He now sits in the 27th position up six places from the 35th position that he held at the close of 2019.
How big is Elon Musk’s stake in Tesla?
Elon Musk currently holds 34,085,560 shares in Tesla . After a bumpy first half, the electric car maker closed 2019 at $418. Since the year started, the stock is up nearly 30%.
Fifteen days into 2020, Musk’s stake has grown in value from $14,259,012,314 to $18,335,304,435. In paper profits, Musk has earned over $4 billion.
Musk’s total wealth, including a significant stake in SpaceX and other companies, now stands at $32 billion.
The wealth bump that Musk is enjoying is coming at a time when Tesla short-sellers are taking it in the chin. Per financial analytics firm S3 Partners, short positions on the electric car maker are down $8.4 billion in the last seven months . Over the same period, Tesla has added over $50 billion to its market capitalization.
Why does the Tesla stock keep accelerating?
Since mid-last year when the stock of the electric car maker hit a two-year low of $177, Tesla has rebounded strongly to settle above $490 as of Wednesday’s close. This is gain of over $170% in about seven months.
Tesla’s massive stock growth has come amidst a variety of positive developments for the electric car maker. Chief among these include Tesla’s successful expansion in China. After breaking ground early last year, Tesla recently delivered the first vehicles made at the Shanghai factory.
As the plant readies for full production, this is expected to boost sales significantly as the Chinese made vehicles will be significantly cheaper in the world’s largest EV market. For instance, tax breaks and subsidies offered domestically-produced EVs reduce the price of a Model 3 by nearly $20,000.
New markets, new models
Though the Shanghai factory is Tesla’s first plant outside the US, the electric car maker is also planning on opening others including in Berlin.
Since mid last year, Tesla has also announced new products including the Cybertruck. And in the world’s second-largest economy, the electric car maker is also considering developing a vehicle specific to the market . It was also last year that Tesla announced a crossover the Model Y. It will be launched later this year.
Tesla’s stock is also surging at a time when Tesla’s deliveries have reached record highs. In 2019 Tesla delivered 50% more cars than in 2018.
