Dernière mise à jour: August 24, 2026
The search Michael Burry short Tesla refers mainly to a bearish options position disclosed by Michael Burry’s Scion Asset Management in 2021. The filing showed put options tied to hundreds of thousands of Tesla shares, attracting attention because Burry was already famous for betting against the U.S. housing market before the 2008 financial crisis.
The position was real, but it is often misunderstood. Burry did not disclose a simple $534 million cash short sale, and he later said he was no longer betting against Tesla. More recently, he has continued criticizing Tesla’s valuation, but there is no verified public evidence of a comparable current Tesla short position as of August 2026.
Table of Contents
- Who Is Michael Burry?
- What Was the Michael Burry Short Tesla Position?
- Why Burry Was Bearish on Tesla
- Why the $534 Million Figure Is Misleading
- When Burry Exited the Tesla Trade
- What His Tesla View Means in 2026
- FAQs
- Conclusion
Quick Information
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Investor | Michael Burry |
| Investment firm | Scion Asset Management |
| Main Tesla trade | Put options |
| First major disclosure | May 17, 2021 |
| Shares underlying Q1 puts | 800,100 |
| Frequently reported value | About $534 million |
| Later Tesla put exposure | More than 1 million underlying shares |
| Position status by October 2021 | Burry said he had exited |
| Current 2026 Tesla short confirmed? | No public confirmation |
| Later view | Continued criticism of Tesla’s valuation |
Who Is Michael Burry?
Michael Burry is an investor best known for recognizing problems in the U.S. housing and mortgage market before the 2008 financial crisis. His trades were later featured in Michael Lewis’s book The Big Short and the film based on it.
Burry later managed money through Scion Asset Management. Because of his history of making large contrarian bets, his investment filings are closely watched whenever he takes a bearish position against a highly valued company.
In November 2025, Reuters reported that Scion Asset Management had deregistered as an investment adviser. This means its future portfolio activity is less transparent through the regular reporting framework that previously gave investors insight into Burry’s trades.
What Was the Michael Burry Short Tesla Position?
The Michael Burry short Tesla story became major news on May 17, 2021, when Scion Asset Management filed its quarterly Form 13F with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The filing showed put options covering 800,100 Tesla shares as of March 31, 2021. A put option generally gains value when the underlying share price falls, making it a common way to express a bearish view.
How put options work
A put option gives its holder the right, but not necessarily the obligation, to sell an underlying asset at a specified price before or at expiration.
A bearish investor might use puts because:
- Potential loss can be limited to the option premium.
- The position can gain when a stock falls.
- Options can provide leverage.
- They can also hedge another position.
That final point matters because a regulatory filing does not reveal every detail of the investor’s broader portfolio strategy.
Internal linking opportunity: Link this section to articles about put options explained, Tesla stock valuation, or EV company investing risks.
Why Burry Was Bearish on Tesla
Burry had repeatedly criticized Tesla’s valuation before and after the 2021 options disclosure. His concern was not primarily whether Tesla could build electric vehicles; it centered on how much investors were willing to pay for the company relative to its financial fundamentals.
Tesla shares had surged dramatically during 2020, driven by growing EV demand, strong investor enthusiasm, improving financial results, and expectations around autonomous driving and future growth.
Burry believed that market optimism had pushed Tesla’s valuation too far.
His later Tesla criticism
That skepticism did not disappear after his 2021 trade ended. In December 2025, Reuters reported that Burry again described Tesla as “ridiculously overvalued.” He raised concerns about valuation and shareholder dilution while criticizing the market’s enthusiasm around AI-related businesses.
However, an opinion that a company is overvalued is different from holding an active short position.
Why the $534 Million Figure Is Misleading
Many headlines described Burry’s Tesla position as a $534 million short.
That number came from multiplying the 800,100 underlying Tesla shares by Tesla’s March 31, 2021 closing price of $667.93. The result was approximately $534 million.
But that does not mean Burry paid $534 million for the puts.
The SEC filing did not reveal:
- The option strike prices
- Expiration dates
- Premiums Burry paid
- Exact market value of the options
- Whether they were part of another hedge
Scion later explicitly noted in an SEC filing that 13F option values are reported based on the securities underlying the options and are different from the actual value of the unexercised options in its records.
This is one of the most important facts when interpreting the trade.
When Did Burry Exit the Tesla Short?
By mid-2021, Scion’s reported Tesla put exposure had grown to options covering slightly more than one million shares.
But the trade did not last indefinitely.
On October 15, 2021, Reuters reported that Burry said he was no longer betting against Tesla and described the position as “just a trade.”
The next quarterly SEC filing confirmed that Tesla put options were no longer among Scion’s reported holdings as of September 30, 2021.
Did Burry make money?
That remains unknown.
Because Form 13F filings do not show option purchase prices, strike prices, expiration dates, or closing transaction details, reliable public sources cannot calculate Burry’s final profit or loss.
Any claim giving an exact amount he made or lost on the trade should therefore be treated cautiously.
What Burry’s Tesla View Means in 2026
Tesla today is a more complicated investment story than it was in 2021.
According to Tesla’s 2025 annual report, the company delivered about 1.64 million vehicles in 2025, generated $94.83 billion in total revenue, and increasingly describes itself as an AI, robotics, energy-storage, and mobility company rather than solely an automaker.
Tesla also launched its Robotaxi service in June 2025 and continues investing in FSD, Cybercab, Optimus, battery technology, energy storage, and AI infrastructure.
These businesses help explain why Tesla supporters may justify a valuation above traditional carmakers.
Burry’s argument versus the bullish case
| Bearish view | Bullish view |
| Tesla valuation is very high | AI and autonomy could create new businesses |
| Automotive revenue has faced pressure | Energy storage continues growing |
| Future expectations may be priced in | Robotaxi could expand margins |
| Shareholder dilution can hurt owners | Software may create recurring revenue |
| Competition is increasing | Tesla has large manufacturing scale |
Tesla’s 2025 automotive revenue fell about 10% year over year, while energy-generation and storage revenue increased 27%. This illustrates why Tesla’s valuation debate increasingly involves more than EV sales alone.
As of August 2026, there is no reliable public evidence that Burry has recreated his famous 2021 Tesla put position.
FAQs
1. Did Michael Burry short Tesla?
Yes. Scion Asset Management disclosed bearish Tesla put options in 2021 covering 800,100 shares at the end of the first quarter.
2. Did Michael Burry bet $534 million against Tesla?
Not exactly. The $534 million figure represented the market value of the underlying Tesla shares, not necessarily the money Burry spent on the options.
3. When did Michael Burry exit his Tesla short?
Burry said in October 2021 that he was no longer betting against Tesla. Scion’s September 30 filing also showed that the Tesla puts had been removed.
4. Why did Michael Burry think Tesla was overvalued?
His criticism focused mainly on Tesla’s high valuation relative to its financial fundamentals and future expectations. He repeated valuation concerns again in late 2025.
5. Is Michael Burry short Tesla again in 2026?
There is no verified public evidence as of August 24, 2026 showing a new Tesla short comparable with his 2021 position. Scion’s deregistration also makes Burry’s current portfolio less publicly transparent.
Conclusion
The Michael Burry short Tesla trade was real, but the popular description of it as a simple $534 million short position leaves out important details. Scion actually disclosed put options tied to Tesla shares, and the SEC filings did not reveal what Burry paid for those options or exactly how profitable the trade became.
Readers can examine the original filing through the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, review Burry’s exit from the trade through Reuters, and compare his bearish argument with Tesla’s current business results through Tesla Investor Relations.
The most accurate conclusion is that Michael Burry short Tesla describes a notable 2021 options trade, not a confirmed ongoing position. Burry remains publicly skeptical of Tesla’s valuation, but skepticism alone should not be presented as evidence that he is currently short the stock.
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