What happened
Shares of Tesla (TSLA 12.06%) took a hit on Thursday, declining as much as 7.3%. By the time the market closed, the stock was down 5.6%. The decline happened even as the S&P 500 rose 2%.
Shares of the electric-car maker were likely down because of comments from short-seller Jim Chanos during an interview with CNBC on Thursday.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
Chanos, who has been a Tesla critic for years, confirmed on Thursday that his firm was still short Tesla, even with shares up 85% in the past six months: "We are still basically maximum short Tesla. It's still one of my favorite positions."
He likened the stock's recent run-up to the excitement for hot stocks toward the end of the dot-com boom.
Now what
Though Tesla is one of the few stocks with a positive year-to-date return, it's come down sharply from recent highs. In February, the stock soared as high as $969. But shares have declined sharply since then, partly reflecting a breather after a torrid run, and partly due to concerns about COVID-19's impact on Tesla's business.
