Pessimism is counterproductive to the long-term development of humanity and rapid deployment of electric vehicles and clean energy. Armchair pessimists don't deserve a place in the stock market. If you think Tesla is doing something wrong, either (a) go work there and fix it or (b) start your own Tesla competitor. Short selling isn't constructive.
What's wrong with short selling? The only reason why people like Elon Musk don't like short selling is because they know that their companies are massively overvalued.
The problem is profiting from spreading misinformation. Tesla short-sellers run large operations that fabricate and spread lies. It's usually easier to spread misinformation than to debunk it.
And Tesla will happily release misinformation too.
One of the last fatalities, Tesla was more than happy to push out a press release based on telemetry, saying "Autopilot wasn't at fault, the driver was inattentive - the vehicle even told him to put his hands on the steering wheel!".
They somehow neglected to mention that the steering wheel alert was triggered, ONCE, and FOURTEEN MINUTES before the crash.
Misinformation is not a good thing. But lets not pretend that Tesla is some downtrodden underdog just trying to make our lives better.
Also, if you have an accident in your Tesla, you'll have a lot of fun trying to get any telemetry information from them, even if Tesla isn't a named party and you're just dealing with the other involved person. You'll need multiple subpoenas and expect them to resist releasing any data as "proprietary".
But should your telemetry from an accident be able to be spun (correctly or otherwise) into a Get out of Jail Free card for Tesla, expect it to be released to the media without your consent or authorization (I'm sure it's buried in Section 48, Subsection 24, Paragraph 14c iii that you consent, but still).
And the companies don't spread misinformation? Not saying it's right in either case but companies, Tesla included aren't shining beacons of morality and truthfulness.
It's not in their interest to lie in the long term. Those companies who lie are scams and they're spotted pretty quickly (e.g. Theranos, Nikola). Elon has made some mishaps, such as 'funding secured @420' tweet, which he was punished for. Public companies have to be pretty careful in their communications. Making promises with too optimistic schedules is not lying, it's just an error in forecasting, and is common in technology.
That couldn't be further from the truth. Theranos survived for 15 years. Wirecard 22 years. Enron 10+ years. Fraud gives you a massive competitive advantage.
Not too along ago I thought of Musk as a misunderstood genius, now I'm pretty certain he knows exactly what he is doing (for the most part). If you look at all the oddities surrounding Tesla, there are clear patterns emerging.
That report is a bunch of horseshit. Lot of words without any substance. He even cherry-picked some data to "prove" that Tesla's sales are declining. Everyone can see the actual progress that Tesla and SpaceX has made. Their cars are winning awards and they're innovating and building new factories as fast as they can. Who cares if they miss a couple of estimates. SpaceX can deliver payload to orbit with much lower cost than competitors.
True though that those companies survived for too long.
I don't know what world you've experienced, but lying in business is incredibly common. I've seen it personally, and there are plenty of cases of Tobacco companies, DOW, Alcohol companies, and many many more knowingly lying.
Of course they do, it's in their best interest to lie. To think that companies will only tell the truth "because it's in their best interest" is childish, and not at all historically accurate.
> fraudulent corporate behaviour.
These two things have nothing to do with each other.
> and should be held accountable for
Holding a company accountable should go through the courts, not personal profit.
I'd be happy if short selling weren't an option. If you believe something is overvalued, stay out. You're not wanted.
If you believe a company did something wrong, file a lawsuit.