Tesla Sees Significant Rise in Short Interest, Ranked Fourth Most Shorted Stock

Tesla Inc. TSLA has recently experienced a substantial increase in short interest, rising over 21% in the latest reporting period. This development positions Tesla as the fourth most shorted stock in the U.S. market.

Short Interest Overview

The short interest for the company led by Elon Musk surged from 67.126 million to 81.331 million shares, representing approximately 2.9% of its publicly available shares as of the settlement date on March 14, with an effective date of March 25.

According to Nasdaq data, this represents an increase of 21.16% compared to the previous settlement date of February 28.

Trading Volume Insights

During this period, Tesla’s average daily trading volume also rose dramatically, increasing from 84.714 million to 125.16 million shares. This trading volume suggests that it would take roughly one day for short sellers to cover their positions without significantly impacting the stock price.

While high short interest typically indicates bearish sentiment, the rise in the current reporting period signifies declining confidence among investors. Tech analyst Beth Kindig from I/O Fund noted that this increase in notional short interest makes Tesla the fourth most shorted stock, trailing behind Nvidia Corp NVDA, Microsoft Corp. MSFT, and Apple Inc. AAPL.

Tesla’s $TSLA short interest has risen to 81M shares, per S3 partners, making its notional short interest the fourth-largest after Nvidia $NVDA, Microsoft $MSFT, and Apple $AAPL.

— Beth Kindig (@Beth_Kindig) April 1, 2025

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Technical Analysis

According to Benzinga Pro, technical indicators suggest a challenging outlook for Tesla’s stock. On Tuesday, Tesla closed at $268.46, reflecting a weak price trend. Although it outperformed its 20-day simple moving average of $254.19, it lagged behind its eight, 50, and 200-day moving averages.

The relative strength index stood at 47.30, indicating neutral territory. However, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) showed bearish momentum, with a score of -11.6. This indicated that the stock’s 12-period exponential moving average is below the 26-period EMA.

Interestingly, the histogram registered a positive 6.65, suggesting that the MACD line is rising and approaching the signal line. This indicates a potential bullish signal within a bearish trend, suggesting a decrease in bearish momentum.

Recent Price Movements

On Wednesday, shares of Tesla were trading 1.37% lower in premarket activity, whereas the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF QQQ, which tracks the Nasdaq 100 index, decreased by 0.46%.

Year-to-date, Tesla’s stock has declined by 29.22%, yet it remains up 61.11% over the past year.

Analyst Ratings and Future Prospects

Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings show that Tesla is experiencing negative price trends for the short, medium, and long term. Although its momentum ranking is solid at the 90.20th percentile, its value ranking is comparatively weaker. Further fundamental details can be found here.

A consensus among 29 analysts indicates a “hold” rating for Tesla’s stock, with an average price target of $309.55. This target varies widely, ranging from $24.86 to $550. Notably, recent ratings from Stifel, Deutsche Bank, and Wedbush average around $450, which suggests a potential upside of 67.86%.

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