It’s been a rough year for many electric vehicle (EV) stocks. Many of these companies are still struggling to increase production in light of supply chain inefficiencies, inflation and a weakened consumer.
EV startups, such as Lucid (NASDAQ:LCID) and Rivian (NASDAQ:RIVN), have decreased their full-year production guidance since the beginning of the year. Meanwhile, EV leader Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) reported third-quarter deliveries of 343,000 vehicles and produced a total of 365,000 vehicles. Analysts were expecting 364,660 Q3 deliveries, which meant Tesla fell short by 6.1%.
A year ago, Tesla delivered 254,695 vehicles and produced 237,823 vehicles. In the most-recent quarter, investors were concerned demand was falling since production outpaced deliveries.
As the largest EV company, it shouldn’t be surprising that TSLA stock is the most-shorted EV and auto stock based on gross value. However, Tesla isn’t the number-one EV or auto stock based on short interest, or SI, as a percentage of float.
3 Most Shorted EV Stocks Right Now
S3 Partners’ Managing Director of Predictive Analytics, Ihor Dusaniwsky, has provided InvestorPlace with a list of the top shorted stocks in the auto and truck manufacturer sector as of Oct. 13. The top three shorted stocks based on gross value are all EV companies.
Top Shorted Auto Stocks Based on Gross Value:
- Tesla: $13.3 billion.
- Rivian: $1.69 billion.
- Lucid: $1.63 billion.
Top Shorted Auto Stocks Based on SI as a Percentage of Float:
Tesla comes in first place for highest short interest value, and it isn’t even close. In addition, Winnebago is the only company on both lists that is not involved with EVs. Meanwhile, Rivian has experienced the largest increase in shorted shares over the past month.
Chinese EV stocks are being shorted as well, although none fall in the top three. XPeng (NYSE:XPEV) currently has the highest SI as a percentage of float of 4.96% among Chinese EV stocks, while Nio (NYSE:NIO) has the highest short gross value of $748.09 million. Competitor Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI) has a SI as a percentage of float of 3.87%, bringing its short gross value to $668.82 million.
Traditional U.S. legacy automakers are facing less short pressure. Ford (NYSE:F) has SI as a percentage of float of 3.41%, while General Motors (NYSE:GM) trails behind with a figure of just 1.69%.
On the date of publication, Eddie Pan did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
