Tesla’s Moon Mission: Why Bears Still Roar Despite Musk’s Rocket Fuel

Elon Musk’s Tesla defies gravity—stock surges, Cybertrucks roll out, AI promises dazzle—yet skeptics cling to their short positions like a Dogecoin maximalist in a bear market. What gives?

The optimism disconnect

Retail investors see vertical growth; institutional players see valuation vertigo. Tesla trades at 60x earnings while legacy automakers hover near 6x—that math keeps Wall Street’s antacids in heavy rotation.

The Musk factor

Every tweetstorm injects volatility IV straight into the options market. Tesla’s beta sits at 2.3, making it the crypto of blue chips—thrilling for degens, terrifying for pension funds.

The final frontier

Until Tesla proves it can scale like Apple while innovating like SpaceX—and turning profits like Exxon during an oil boom—the bears will keep growling. After all, even Bitcoin maximalists take profits sometimes.

Shareholders demand Elon show up and work 40 hours weekly

At the same time, a group of activist shareholders sent a letter to Tesla board chair Robyn Denholm asking that Elon start working at least 40 hours a week at Tesla. The letter, signed by SOC Investment Group and other smaller investors, came as a response to what they call a growing crisis inside the company.

Together, these shareholders control about 7.9 million shares — a small slice of Tesla’s 3.22 billion total — but they’re making a lot of noise. The shareholders called out Elon’s year-long focus on politics, especially his role leading the US Doge Service under President Trump, which they blame for the company’s battered image and plunging sales.

Tesla’s latest earnings call revealed a 71% fall in profit and a 13% dip in sales compared to the same time last year. The letter called the situation “a crisis,” saying the board has failed to act in the best interests of shareholders.

“Tesla’s stock price volatility, declining sales, as well as disconcerting reports regarding the company’s human rights practices, and a plummeting global reputation are cause for serious concern,” it said.

They didn’t stop at just wanting Elon to show up more. The letter also demanded a real succession plan, a rule limiting outside board commitments, and a requirement to appoint a new board member who has no personal ties to anyone already there.

The board has long faced criticism for being too cozy with Elon. That got legal attention too. A Delaware judge struck down a $56 billion pay package for Elon in December 2024, citing his tight relationships with board members — including his brother. That legal fight started in 2018 when a shareholder who owned just nine shares filed the case.

Some of the same shareholders behind Wednesday’s letter were also involved last year in a campaign against Elon’s 2018 pay package. Back then, they warned that Elon was stretched too thin. They’re still saying it now: “The Board continues to allow Elon to be overcommitted, not demanding that he devote his attention to his role as CEO and ‘Technoking’ of Tesla.”

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