Bearish Bets in Tesla Climb Amid Low Model 3 Expectations

(Bloomberg) -- Yet another moment of truth is approaching for Tesla, and the shorts are getting ready.

The electric vehicle maker is expected to announce its first-quarter delivery numbers some time next week, even as the company tries to make sense of a fatal crash of its Model X car in Arizona earlier this month. Bearish bets in Tesla have now risen to nearly 25 percent of its free float, touching the highest level since late May, 2017. The stock, meanwhile, has nosedived.

The Elon Musk company’s shares are trading roughly 77 percent lower than the average Wall Street price target of $329.92. The last time Tesla’s price target ratio fell below 80 percent was on December 12, 2016.

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