Burry said he shorted Tesla at $416.22 ahead of its Q2 delivery report, saying he was “happy it jumped back to this level.”
- Burry’s Tesla short is part of a broader bearish bet against major market winners, including Nvidia, Applied Materials, Caterpillar and SOXX.
- Gary Black expects Tesla to deliver about 410,000 vehicles in Q2, above the Wall Street consensus of 406,000, partly helped by higher gas prices.
- Tesla's short interest is around 2% of float, per Koyfin, its highest level in about five months.
Michael Burry, the money manager made famous by “The Big Short”, has taken a bearish position in Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) ahead of its Q2 delivery print, even as Gary Black expects the company to top delivery estimates while staying on the sidelines over valuation concerns.
In a new trading post late Tuesday, Burry said that he shorted Tesla at $416.22, adding that he was “happy it jumped back to this level.” The move came as part of a broader bearish trade against some of the market’s biggest winners, with Burry also shorting Nvidia, Applied Materials, Caterpillar and SOXX.
TSLA stock ended 2% higher at $420.6 on Tuesday, with shares eyeing their best week in over two weeks.
Gary Black Sees TSLA Q2 Delivery Beat
Burry’s revelation comes just before the EV maker’s second-quarter delivery update expected on Thursday. Future Fund Managing Partner Gary Black said on X that he expects Tesla to deliver about 410,000 vehicles in Q2, up 7% from the previous year and ahead of Wall Street consensus of 406,000.
Black said that higher gas prices during the quarter may have helped demand. If his estimate proves right, Tesla would post its second straight year-over-year delivery gain of over 5%, after deliveries declined 9% in 2025 and 1% in 2024.
However, Black said, “We remain cautious on TSLA longer term,” citing falling 2026-2030 earnings estimates and intensifying competition in unsupervised autonomy. He pointed to Alphabet’s Waymo, Baidu, WeRide, Pony AI and Amazon-linked players, saying rivals are already completing about 1 million paid unsupervised autonomous rides per week without safety monitors. Black also said Future Fund has “no position in Tesla” due to its “extended valuation,” citing a 2026 price-to-earnings ratio of 200x, 35% long-term earnings-per-share growth and a 6x price/earnings-to-growth ratio.
TSLA Shorts Back In Focus
In April, Burry analyzed nearly a decade of audited filings from major tech companies and called Tesla the “Lord of the Tragic Tier,” a group of companies in which stock-based compensation exceeded both GAAP stock-based compensation expense and cumulative net income. Put simply, he said that paying employees in stock has cost these companies more than they have ever earned.
Burry also said CEO Elon Musk’s compensation package is so large that it distorts broader index earnings. He has bet against Tesla before, most notably through Tesla put options disclosed in 2021, and later said that the trade had been exaggerated and that he was no longer short.
Musk has also mocked bearish bets against the company, including Bill Gates’ reported Tesla short, which Musk previously warned he “had better” close if it was still open. In December, Musk said Gates had placed “a massive short bet” against Tesla of 1% of total shares, adding that it might have cost him over $10 billion by then. Tesla's short interest is currently around 2% of float, according to Koyfin, marking its highest level in about five months.
How Do Retail Traders Feel About TSLA?
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for TSLA was ‘bullish’ amid ‘high’ message volume.
One bullish user said, “$TSLA still going to $450 whether the bears like it or not… burry will get buried”
View this Stocktwits post
Another user said, “$TSLA tomorrow likely be under $400.00. Burry’s short is killing this in days to come. Trade wisely”
View this Stocktwits post
So far this year, Tesla's stock has lagged its "Magnificent Seven" peers, making it the group's third-worst performer, down about 6%.
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