What is short selling and what are its risks?

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors, has become infamous for his controversial tweets. His most recent target was short sellers. Musk tweeted saying short selling should be made illegal because it causes negative pressure on GDP and can incentivise fraudulent behaviour by investors and regulators. Musk's dislike for short sellers is not new. Many believe that his tweets in August about taking Tesla private were an attempt to impact short sellers by causing the company's stocks to spike in value. It certainly worked. Tesla's shares jumped 11%

This article was originally published on October 23, 2018.