[pyoung]

So you are saying that a lot of the short interest is coming from people hedging their long bets?

I can somewhat relate to why one would take this strategy, as Tesla is getting a lot of hype, implying that the stock might break out (or already did, currently at $71), but they are also in a fairly precarious financial situation, with a ton of debt. Elon himself warned that if the company didn't get to positive cash flow it was likely they would go under. Still it seems like a high price to pay for a hedge, wouldn't it be simpler (and possibly cheaper) just to reduce your long position?