Tesla Bears' Refrain: 'I Got My Butt Kicked'

"Oh damn, I got my butt kicked." That's the lament of private investor Robert Majteles to the Wall Street Journal over the recent meteoric rise of Tesla's stock. The assessment pretty much sums up the story, which explains that Majteles is one of many investors in the same boat. In fact, the Journal estimates that investors who bet against Tesla have lost a combined $8.4 billion since January. Tesla shares are up 79% since the start of the year, giving CEO Elon Musk reason to gloat over the short sellers he has long feuded with on social media. Last week, he was tweeting fire emojis, interpreted as a sign of how badly his stock market foes were getting burned.

For perspective, the Journal notes that Tesla stock was at $178 last June. Since then? A rise of about 320%. Last week in particular was wild, with the stock posting a gain of 15%. And CNBC reports that things were continuing in that vein Monday, with shares up 7% in early trading before settling back to a more modest 2% gain. The shares initially climbed above $800 but were closer to $760 about 11am. An analysis at Forbes suggests Tesla shares could eventually hit $1,500, and it lays out how: It involves Google acquiring the company. (Meanwhile, the auto company is taking heat over autopilot crashes.)