SpaceX short sellers pocket $5 billion as valuation craters

The company’s market value has shed approximately $1 trillion from its peak, defying aggressive bullish targets set by major financial institutions. Shares struggled further this week, opening at $127 on Friday following the cancellation of a high-profile Starship test flight. Data from S3 Partners indicates that 192 million shares—roughly 30% of the total float—are currently sold short.

Investors are deepening their bearish positions as the notional value of short interest ballooned to $25 billion, up from $4.5 billion in mid-June. According to Ortex cofounder Peter Hillerberg, the stock has been a volatile ride, swinging from significant early losses for skeptics to an $8.7 billion profit by Thursday’s close. While Musk has historically mocked those betting against his ventures, most notably during Tesla’s 2020 short squeeze, the current momentum surrounding SpaceX remains firmly in favor of the bears.