"Note the following, important difference: at this point (end of Q3/2018) most Tesla shorts are pretending that they are thinking like pragmatic accountants, they are projecting a (false) image of knowing the truth behind the numbers."
Never let facts, truth, or proven business principles get in the way of your paid rhetorical agenda: what you are paid to do is combat truth, facts, and proven business principles on behalf of parties highly interested in manipulating the outcome of events.
Must be paying well now with such an abundance!
Each week more FUD sausages from the butcher shops, coupled with the now distinctive spike selling.and rhythmic capping.
There was Mr. Cohan, to "give reason" for a spike sale holding price under 300.
Last week, the "shorts" flog out old John Peterson to cover for a sell-down to keep share price under 300.
Yesterday he shows up again writing how he is a short “again.” Quite funny actually.
And on another day the ilutzrious Bob Lutz is trundled out, again, to repeat his old line about Tesla not long for the world. He has been going on the TeeVee and saying the same thing since 2012! Always repeats it in the same way with the same framing, even as the years pass, each one proving him wrong again, only now he seems downright senile!
Shortly before that of course, Bloomberg's Dana Hull hit and run with the huge selldown, mastered not to trigger SEC rules
Another dip was “credited” to another exec leavening Tesla.
Worked for another sell down/news nullification push.
(How many execs left other companies last week? No one will ever know, of course.)
Lately, through the combined efforts of bankers and traders, media companies, along with other assorted analysts and commentators, seems we have actually seen some pretty sunny weather in Shortsville.
And far from being "short" shorts, the shorts have been “going long" in the football way, and: "putting on a clinic."
We watch as they revel in deploying all the techniques they have acquired with malice aforethought. The last few weeks have brought excellent demonstrations of short operations:
The pattern is just so familiar and consistent......
I imagine that in some offices somewhere, shorts have been preparing the sell spikes with FUD cover for tomorrow, and for next week, or next month .... or, maybe, even for “this afternoon,” if a "journalist" can be found (at Bloomberg, say; or NYT, WSJ, or even an old familiar hand at Seeking Alpha). Just get that new headline up, and onto the feeds: Google, Yahoo, quickly to CNBC. Just someone to write a nice reactive hit piece touching on all the negative narrative points again, and then again. And wrap it up in the same repeated narrative bags and boxes, base something on "persons familiar with the matter," while reminding readers/viewers that the stock is down and that somewhere, someone is calling for Eon's head, and that Tesla struggles to meet their deadlines, is always behind, and demand is drying up!
Recently , it looks like some powerful players have playing TSLA like a violin!
They really wanna let us all know who is boss. And 300 is a line in the sand!
That actually makes me laugh.
Really, this is like some kind of “b” movie, that is unintentionally a hilarious comedy!
It’s the FURIOUS battle for 300 (a nice round psychological number, with cinematic references)
Announcer: panning across charts,
the propaganda battle horn sounds,
..... coming into a green field, then the dagger swift and true, turning green to red like blood on the grass......
“Its been a great week for shorts on the field of "battle"!
Initial draw down: successful.
Frequent capping: successful.
Price held under 300.
Volume low. Good news nullified. Enthusiasm checked.
FUD consistently purveyed.
This has been very satisfying for shorts.
They are not ahead, but they successfully held 300! I
ts a victory, though, that’s what they say. Proof that they are right.
Many are telling themselves they have TSLAQ well in hand.
Immmmiiiinnnnniiinnnt bankwuptcy!"
As time goes on, we learn more watching the way these operations develop. It seems important to note that profits on the trades are likely used for further shorting, while losses are simply a business expense. Short term gains or losses are not of primary interest. The objective is long term, by the actions which are short term and immediate, and consistent: to drive down TSLA share value, and hold it down, while constantly drumming the doubt, uncertainty, fear, over time, working to make the company and its CEO distasteful to the public and risky to investors.
The high-level, professional "gun-for-hire" operativee are not acting on an analysis of a weak company, as their publicity and their TV pundits claim, and as one would expect of a true "short." Rather their actions show their secret analysis: of a very strong company, growing at unprecedented speed, and threatening "everything."
Only a truly formidable future opponent would merit so much effort, consistent funding, dedication, and coordination.
Only a growing and powerful company would need to be brought down or eliminated to protect their power.
The weak company with marginal viability that they consistently portray (against all facts, truth and proven business principles) would not warrant the level of unprecedented effort and determination we are witnessing on a daily basis.
Furthermore, it seems clear now that the interests behind the "shorts" know that this quarter, this moment, could likely be the last best chance to find a way inflict any mortal or at least seriously debilitating blow to Tesla. Its clear now that they actually do see the Tesla juggernaut (alien dreadnought?) and know that is growing toward them really, really fast!
It seems quite clear now that some "shorts" are capable of and some even have a history of using means and measures that are explicitly hostile toward truth, and brazenly dismissive of ethics or legality. Why should they, when none is enforced?
Is this what we will face for the foreseeable future if we believe in and invest in TSLA long term?
I agree with the comment that the hatred and bias against Tesla is based on its success, not its flaws. It follows then that more success will bring even more of this phenomena.
For this reason, I have doubt we will see a “short squeeze:” Is there actually any limit to how much and how often these major, well financed, well-connected, hedge fund shorts can work this suppression effect?
With billions at hand to deploy, using huge spike sales, coordinating well-timed and well-spun FUD production (untethered from truth, or regulatory intervention), followed by regular, almost rhythmic price capping..... what is to prevent these players from continuing the program indefinitely? Seems that about $10 billion is actively engaged in this effort today, which has remained remarkably consistent for years now. Meanwhile the market players for these "short" interests continue to sharpen their manipulation skills and get more brazen in their conduct (especially since the "go private" episode).
We can only watch as such nefarious activity, now well documented, and stunningly open and visible, is deployed literally on a daily basis.
When longs "buy and hold" or even buy and sell shares, it does not contribute to volatility in the way that these players do, since they are willing, and able, to "churn" shares, spike them, and deploy tactics to cap rallies, and work at such a scale.
We need to go on learning from these players, but unless and until the SEC intervenes, this activity will likely continue, and probably get worse.
Is there really anything anyone else can do about it?
