Tesla Falls from Top Buyer to Top Seller
Stock Price Plummets 35% from January Peak
Musk's Wealth Evaporates 24% Since January
Global Billionaire Ranking Drops from 2nd to 3rd
[Asia Economy reporters Seon-ae Lee and Suhwan Kim] Domestic overseas stock investors (Seohak Gaemi) are expressing anger and turning their backs on Tesla shares due to CEO Elon Musk's 'loose talk.' Michael Burry, founder of Scion Asset Management and famous as the protagonist of the movie 'The Big Short' (photo), has reportedly bet on Tesla's decline.
According to the Korea Securities Depository on the 18th, domestic overseas stock investors have net sold Tesla shares worth $29,668,551 from the beginning of this month to the 17th. The total sales amount was $666,481,698, while the purchase amount was $636,813,147. Although there are still trading days left in May, this marks the first time in about a year and a half since December 2019 that Seohak Gaemi have net sold Tesla shares on a monthly basis.
Tesla also disappeared from the list of the top 50 net purchased overseas stocks. This highlights the intensity of the selling pressure. Not only was Tesla dethroned from the number one net purchase spot, but it also became the number one net sold stock. Tesla held the top spot in overseas stock net purchase settlement amounts until the first quarter of this year. In particular, it recorded the number one net purchase position for seven consecutive months from October last year to last month on a monthly basis. However, the situation reversed sharply this month, leading the market to boldly use the phrase 'Tesla's fall.'
Amid issues such as decreased sales and production and development delays this year, combined with CEO risk, Tesla's stock price has been declining daily. The global stock markets have been on thin ice due to the US inflation shock, which has dampened investment sentiment in growth stocks. On the 17th (local time), Tesla's stock price fell about 2% to $576.83. It has dropped more than 15% this month and nearly 35% from the peak on January 26 this year.
The decline in Tesla's stock price has also reduced Musk's wealth. According to Bloomberg, Musk has dropped one rank from second to third place in the global wealth rankings, yielding the spot to Bernard Arnault, chairman of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH). Musk's wealth is estimated at $160.6 billion (approximately 182.76 trillion KRW), down 24% from its peak in January.
The securities industry unanimously advises caution in investing in Tesla. Eunyoung Lim, a researcher at Samsung Securities, said, "Tesla is currently surrounded by various negative factors such as decreased carbon credit sales, intensified US-China trade conflicts, target concerns, and cryptocurrency-related controversies, so investment sentiment is expected to weaken until the momentum confirmation period in the second half of the year." She added, "If Tesla can clearly demonstrate a technological gap with other automakers in areas such as autonomous driving technology or electric pickup trucks and other electric commercial vehicles, a turnaround in sentiment is possible."
A Tesla investment warning has also appeared overseas. According to CNBC, Michael Burry reported to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that he holds put options worth $534 million (about 600 billion KRW) on Tesla stock. Put options are a type of derivative product that bets on a stock price decline. Burry is known for predicting the collapse of the US housing market before the 2008 global financial crisis and making huge profits by placing massive short sales.
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