Story perspectives

SpaceX Shares Slide as Shorts Hold 32% Float

7/23/2026

Summary

Musk Warns Shorts

SpaceX shares fell to about $115 as short sellers held 206 million shares—32% of the float—worth $25 billion.
S3 Partners said short interest rose from 185 million shares last week and from 40 million a month ago.
Reuters reported short sellers earned $8.7 billion profit while the stock traded near $135.
Elon Musk warned on X that institutions with short positions face an extremely low survival probability.

Summary

SpaceX Posts Loss

SpaceX reported $18.7 billion of 2025 revenue but posted a $4.9 billion net loss after $20 billion of capital spending.
A compute agreement with Anthropic will pay SpaceX $1.25 billion each month through May 2029.
The IPO raised about $75 billion, with retail allocation falling from a 30% target to just over 20% and orders topping $100 billion.
Musk retains control through billions of Class B super-voting shares that would convert to Class A only if he sells.

History

Historical Context

Tesla’s stock surged about 700% in January 2020, while short interest hit a record 20% and short sellers incurred roughly $40 billion in losses, mirroring the 2021 GameStop short squeeze that battered hedge funds such as Citadel and Point72. Those episodes have spurred regulators to examine the risks of founder-run, high-growth companies with concentrated voting power.

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Musk Warns Shorts

SpaceX shares fell to about $115 as short sellers held 206 million shares—32% of the float—worth $25 billion.
S3 Partners said short interest rose from 185 million shares last week and from 40 million a month ago.
Reuters reported short sellers earned $8.7 billion profit while the stock traded near $135.
Elon Musk warned on X that institutions with short positions face an extremely low survival probability.

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