Hedge funds, the Tesla Those who sold short have just lost more than $5 billion (almost €4.7 billion). According to the Bloomberg news agency, the reason for this is largely the aftermath of the US election campaign. So have the special relationship between Tesla CEO Elon Musk (53) and winner Donald Trump (78) significantly influenced Tesla’s price – and thus also the wallets of large hedge funds that had bet on short-term losses.
Tesla shares boosted
Since the Nov. 5 election, Tesla’s stock price has risen nearly 30 percent, adding over $200 billion in market value. On Friday The company’s valuation even exceeded a trillion dollars. Hedge funds that were previously short selling quickly changed course. As of Nov. 6, just 7 percent of hedge funds had net short positions in Tesla, compared to 17 percent in early July, according to the Bloomberg report.
In July, almost 20 percent of the hedge funds recorded by the Hazeltree database had bet against Tesla. However, they have already been surprised by a rally after Tesla published strong sales figures at the beginning of July.
Electromobility in crisis
While the electric vehicle industry fell 12 percent this year, according to Bloomberg, Tesla rose about 30 percent in 2024 after more than doubling its value the previous year. Tesla’s performance stands out clearly from other companies that stand for climate change. After Trump’s victory, renewable energy stocks fell amid fears that Trump would cut clean energy incentives.
For Musk, the price development was worth it: According to Bloomberg, the Tesla boss saw his fortune increase by a whopping $50 billion after the election after he spent around $130 million on Trump and Republicans in the election campaign.
Musk was considered after that attempted assassination of Trump in July as one of the biggest supporters. He hopes to gain political influence through his alliance with Trump, as Trump plans to reward loyalists. This could particularly pay off current restrictions and bureaucracy for Musk’s six companies.