(Reuters) – Jim Chanos, who has been short on Tesla Inc’s stock for five years, has reduced his bet against the electric carmaker, the short-seller told Bloomberg News on Thursday.
Chanos told Bloomberg he has never met or had a conversation with Elon Musk, but if they were to meet he would say “job well done so far.” (https://bloom.bg/2VuaESO)
The change in tone from the bearish investor, whose hedge fund Kynikos Associates first disclosed the short position in 2016, comes ahead of Tesla’s entry to the S&P 500 benchmark index on Dec. 21.
Tesla’s stock has risen nearly seven-fold so far this year. Its shares were up 3.2% on Thursday, extending its meteoric rally.
“Obviously this is not being valued as a car company, it’s being valued on Musk … he’s the reason people own the stock,” Chanos had said in 2017. (https://reut.rs/3qmx5HP)
Chanos did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
(Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
