Elon Musk: People betting against Tesla 'want us to die so bad they can taste it'
- Elon Musk says the massive amount of money bet against Tesla "could be worse"
- Tesla shares are up 70 percent year-to-date
- Tesla stock rises, while Ford and GM shares languish
Elon Musk says people betting against Tesla intensely the want the company to fail.
The Tesla CEO said on Thursday that investors with short positions "want us to die so bad they can taste it."
He posted the note after tweeting out an Investopedia article saying Tesla is the most shorted company in the U.S. equity market. The article cited data from financial analytics firm S3 Partners which said the short interest in Tesla totals about $10.4 billion.
Musk's caption for the article was "could be worse."
Tesla shares have repeatedly reached all-time highs in recent months, as the company moves closer to beginning production on the Model 3 sedan — the stock is up more than 70 percent since the beginning of 2017.
That has been terrible for investors shorting the stock.
Tesla has only had two profitable quarters since its 2010 IPO, but its rapidly rising share price contrasts with those of established automakers such as Ford and GM, who have mostly failed to impress Wall Street.
Musk had a request for those who are betting against his firm: "Just wish they would stop sticking pins in voodoo dolls of me."