Die-hard Tesla Inc. investors are feeling vindicated: The stock is extending its relentless run, and the company is set to join the S&P 500, the most widely tracked stock benchmark in the world. Many are even buying more shares.
Tesla has surged 731% this year and reached a record high Friday, padding the wallets of investors who have poured their savings into both the stock and the company’s electric cars. The rally has accelerated since S&P Dow Jones Indices said it would add Tesla to the benchmark. The shares are up 70% since Nov. 16 and will enter the S&P 500 on Monday.
Tesla’s run has been so powerful that many bearish investors have abandoned their money-losing bets, sending short positions on the stock to a record low. Short interest in the stock as a percentage of shares available for trading recently fell to a low of 5%, down from roughly 18% earlier in the year, IHS Markit data shows.
Since Tesla went public a decade ago, its market value has surged to $659 billion to become the sixth-largest company in the U.S. market. Tesla is by far the biggest company ever added to the S&P 500; its market value ballooned even before it delivered four consecutive quarters of profits to make it eligible for inclusion.
Tesla bulls say the company’s potential is limitless and are buying even more stock as shares charge to new highs.
