Tesla short sellers mint $4 billion profit as shares nosedive

Tesla shares fell up to 15 percent in their worst intraday drop in over a year after second-quarter profit missed expectations, fueling concerns about its AI and robotics ambitions. Short sellers are estimated to have made about 4.12 billion dollars in one-day mark-to-market profits, bringing year-to-date paper gains to roughly 8.92 billion dollars. The stock now trades at 151 times estimated forward earnings and is down nearly 30 percent in 2026, though some analysts like Morningstar see the pullback as a buying opportunity with a fair value of 450 dollars.