Burry denies shorting Tesla amid ongoing bearish commentary

Michael Burry, the investor known for calling the US housing crash years before the painful year that was 2008, said he is not betting against Tesla stock right after he called it “ridiculously overvalued.”

The clarification came after users on X pressed him on whether his consistent bearish comments meant he was short the TSLA stock too.

“But I am not short,” Michael wrote in response to one of those questions. The TSLA stock had already gone through a sharp swing this year. Shares slid in April after Elon Musk’s political activity raised questions about his focus on running the automaker. Since then, Tesla has rebounded hard and now trades near record highs, despite rising concern around vehicle demand and slowing deliveries.

Tesla publishes delivery estimates as sales pressure builds

Tesla added to the debate on Monday when it abruptly published vehicle delivery estimates on its website. That step stood out. The company usually shares this data privately with analysts and investors.

The numbers pointed to a second straight annual decline in vehicle sales, as Tesla compiled an average estimate of 1.6 million deliveries, a drop of more than 8% from the prior year. The outlook for the next three years also came in below averages tracked by Bloomberg, showing weaker momentum than many investors had priced in.

For the fourth quarter, analysts expect Tesla to deliver 422,850 vehicles, according to data posted by the company. That would be a 15% fall from the same period last year.

Bloomberg’s average stood higher at 440,907 vehicles, which still implied an 11% annual decline. Tesla had not published these averages before, even though its investor relations team has long compiled similar data behind the scenes.

Despite the sales slowdown, Tesla stock has held up, surging 11% through Tuesday’s close, even as the S&P 500 gained 17% over the same period. The gap shows investors remain willing to pay for future growth, even as delivery volumes soften.

Elon Musk defends Tesla scale while Burry stays skeptical of AI

While delivery estimates triggered bearish argument, Elon Musk continued posting on X, saying, “Tesla Model Y is now officially the world’s best-selling car for the third year in a row.” In another, Elon addressed criticism tied to his $1 trillion pay package, which shareholders approved at an October meeting.

“My Tesla and SpaceX shares, which are almost all my wealth, only go up in value as a function of how much useful product those companies produce and service,” Elon wrote. He added that shareholders and employees benefit from stock gains and described himself as “a maker, not a taker,” targeting politicians like Bernie Sanders.

Meanwhile, Michael remains with short positions on Nvidia, Palantir, and Google, arguing that AI has turned into a bubble. He has said, in his new Substack “Cassandra Unchained,” he does not believe AI demand will justify current valuations and expects the trade to unwind next year.

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