Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: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.”
Check out the current price of TSLA stock here.
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 (NYSE:SPY) has gained 9.90% year to date, while the Nasdaq-100 as tracked by Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 (NASDAQ: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 (NASDAQ: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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