Though it left Elon Musk and other Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) stockholders poorer, TSLA shares’ latest plunge proved highly beneficial for one of the most prominent bears and contrarians in finance: the legendary ‘Big Short’ trader Michael Burry.
Specifically, the famous short trader revealed on Tuesday, June 30, that he made a bet against the electric vehicle (EV) company while it was trading at $416.22.
At press time on Friday, July 24, Tesla stock is changing hands at $319.69 after a 16.16% weekly drop and a 14.52% plummet following the July 22 earnings report. Overall, the EV maker is down 23.19% since the legendary short trader unveiled his position.
The exact scale of Burry’s profits – or whether they are realized or unrealized – however, remains unknown since the ‘Big Short’ investor refrained from revealing the size of his bearish bet.
Still, short sellers that targeted Tesla stock ahead of the company’s latest filing are estimated to have cumulatively raked in $4.1 billion, per a Bloomberg report published on July 23.
Why Tesla stock is crashing
Elsewhere, TSLA shares’ latest drop is directly linked to a significant earnings miss during the second quarter (Q2) of 2026. Indeed, Elon Musk’s car company reported its earnings per share (EPS) at $0.33 while analysts were forecasting $0.51.
Additionally, while the firm beat expectations in terms of revenue – sales came in at $28.24 billion instead of $25.71 billion – and announced a recovery of its core business, its margins diminished, furthering the bearish attitude among investors.
Burry sees success on three out of four notable June 30 shorts
Lastly, Michael Burry’s other three short positions unveiled on June 30 mostly appear to be paying off by press time on July 24.
Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) stock fell 16% from $1,064.90 to $894.54 within the timeframe, and Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) is down 22.16% as its equity diminished in value from $723 to $562.80.
The final and arguably most controversial short position, however, remains a loser. Specifically, Michael Burry also made a bet against Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) late last month, and NVDA stock rallied 4.33% from $200.09 to $208.76.
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