A small but notable group of investors is now betting against SpaceX, even as many traders remain wary of wagering against Elon Musk.
According to CNBC, about 40 million SpaceX shares are currently sold short. That figure comes from an estimate by S3 Partners, a firm that tracks short-selling activity. The 40 million shares represent roughly 5% to 7% of the shares that are publicly available to trade.
Short selling is a strategy in which an investor borrows shares and sells them, hoping to buy them back later at a lower price and pocket the difference. It is essentially a bet that a stock's value will fall. A short interest in the 5% to 7% range is generally considered modest, suggesting that while some investors see room for SpaceX's valuation to come down, the position is far from a crowded trade.
CNBC frames the appetite as limited, noting that many investors are still afraid to bet against Musk. His track record across companies has made shorting his ventures a risky proposition, and that reputation appears to be keeping broader skepticism in check.
Why it matters: The level of short interest offers a rare, concrete read on how Wall Street privately judges one of the world's most closely watched private companies — and signals that even modest doubt comes with hesitation when Musk is involved.