Tesla Inc. TSLA Senior Vice President Xiaotong Zhu, also known as Tom Zhu has divested more than 82% of his Tesla holdings since 2023, raising concerns about insider confidence as CEO Elon Musk simultaneously threatens short sellers with “obliteration.”
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Massive Executive Stock Dump Raises Red Flags
Gordon Johnson, an analyst at GLJ Research flagged Zhu’s stock sales as “alarming” in a recent post on X, pointing to securities filings that show the executive — who oversees Tesla’s Asia-Pacific operations and is described by Johnson as Musk’s “right-hand man” — has cut his holdings from more than 81,000 shares to under 15,000.
The selling accelerated throughout 2023 and 2024, with Zhu offloading shares at prices ranging from $174 to $323 per share.
Charts Point To Mounting Pressure
Tesla shares closed at $330.56 on Friday, down 1.50% for the day. The stock has fallen 12.85% year to date, significantly underperforming the broader market.
By comparison, the S&P 500 as tracked by SPDR S&P 500 SPY has gained 9.90% year to date, while the Nasdaq-100 as tracked by Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 QQQ is up 13.05% over the same period, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
See Also: Here’s How Much You Would Have Made Owning Tesla Stock In The Last 5 Years
Musk Threatens Short Sellers Despite Insider Sales
Musk recently warned short sellers they will be “obliterated” once Tesla achieves full autonomy. Current short interest represents 2.56% of Tesla’s float, totaling 71.99 million shares worth over $24 billion.
Major institutional short positions include MUFG Securities, Jane Street Group, and Citadel Advisors. Musk’s threats echo previous confrontations with short sellers, including Microsoft MSFT co-founder Bill Gates.
Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings show TSLA has a strong performance, with Growth leading at 73.27 and Momentum at 84.13. The price trend remains positive across short-, medium and long-term periods. Find out how the stock competes with other companies.
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