Who wears short shorts? Elon Musk pokes fun at Tesla’s naysayers
Musk again throws shade on short-sellers but this time as Tesla tops Toyota as the world’s most valuable carmaker.
After surpassing Toyota Motor Corp as the world’s most valuable automaker and stunning with forecast-beating deliveries, Tesla Inc has taken time out to poke fun at the company’s naysayers – with sales of red satin shorts.
“Limited edition short shorts now available,” CEO Elon Musk tweeted on Sunday.
Musk has often taken umbrage at short-sellers and in 2018, sent a box of shorts to hedge-fund owner and Tesla short-seller David Einhorn. So-called “shorting” a stock is to bet that its price will drop.
Limited edition short shorts now available at https://t.co/5EmNcTBvJv
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 5, 2020
The “Short Shorts” on the Tesla shop website feature gold trim and “S3XY” in gold across the back, which also happens to be formed from Tesla model names.
The shorts cost $69.420, the last three digits an apparent reference to Musk’s infamous tweet in 2018 that he was considering taking Tesla private for $420 a share, with 420 also a codeword for cannabis.
Only $69.420!!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 5, 2020
That tweet landed him in hot water with the US securities regulator, costing him his position as Tesla chairman.
The Silicon Valley carmaker, however, has reason to crow. Its stock has almost tripled in value this year to just over $1,200 a share and it sold more than 90,000 of its electric vehicles in the second quarter, defying a trend of plummeting sales for other automakers hit by coronavirus-induced lockdowns.
Dang, we broke the website
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 5, 2020
“Run like the wind or entertain like Liberace,” the product description said, adding: “Enjoy exceptional comfort from the closing bell.” It will ship within two to four weeks.
Tesla is expected to announce earnings results for April to June quarter this month, with analysts saying the second-quarter deliveries had heightened expectations that it will report four consecutive quarters of profit for the first time in its history.