As this year’s bull market rages on, short squeeze electric vehicle (EV) stocks have received renewed interest from investors. Indeed, there are a number of potential EV makers whose stock price has, in some investors’ minds, been overblown to the point where a squeeze has become inevitable.

On Wednesday, S3 Partners Research updated figures on the short interest in U.S. automakers. Ihor Dusaniwsky pointed out that the short interest on automakers is at $43.6 billion, with the vast majority, $33.3 billion, vested in EV stocks. Float for automakers is at 6.14% currently, far higher than the U.S. market average of about 5%, reaping stock borrowing costs of 1.49%, close to double the 0.77% average.

While the most shorted automakers include some big names, like Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), Rivian (NASDAQ:RIVN), XPeng (NYSE:XPEV), Lucid (NASDAQ:LCID) and more, these aren’t the stocks that have reaped the most profit for short investors. In fact, most of the big-name EV makers have enjoyed gangbuster years so far.

Tesla and Rivian, for example, are up 169% and 44% year-to-date, respectively. Respectable growth, but exactly the opposite of the stuff of short squeezers’ dreams. These companies have actually brutally burned short investors this year with more than $100 million in year-to-date (YTD) short losses.

So, what are the best short squeeze candidates in the EV space currently?

5 Short Squeeze EV Stocks Earning Short Investors Big Bucks

There are just five automaker stocks that have earned short investors more than $100 million in YTD profit.

These include:

• Mullen Automotive (NASDAQ:MULN)
• Lordstown Motors (OTCMKTS:RIDEQ)
• Faraday Future Intelligent Electric (NASDAQ:FFIE)
• Workhorse Group (NASDAQ:WKHS)
• Canoo (NASDAQ:GOEV)

Mullen represents the biggest winner for EV shorts this year, which functionally means it has lost the most in 2023. Indeed, the company is down more than 98% year-to-date, trading for just 15 cents a share.

Lordstown and Canoo are next up on the list, down 78% and 42%, respectively. Following them is Workhorse, down about 21% this year. Faraday is last up on the list, and surprisingly, the company is actually in the green this year. FFIE stock is up 8% in 2023, though the stock is down 95% in the past year.

On the date of publication, Shrey Dua 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.