Short sellers notch $15.5 billion profit as SpaceX shares slide

Short sellers targeting SpaceX shares are sitting on an estimated $15.5 billion in paper profit since the rockets-to-AI firm's mid-June initial public ​offering, as its stock slipped below the IPO price, according to data ​through Tuesday from analytics firm Ortex Technologies. Short sellers, who borrow shares ⁠to sell them and later buy them back at a lower price for ​a profit, have pressed their bearish bets on SpaceX as the company's shares ​slipped below its IPO price of $135 from a post-IPO high of $225.64. SpaceX shares have been volatile, experiencing brief bouts of strength before slipping further. On Wednesday, the stock dropped to a new ​low of $115.26. The weakness in SpaceX shares reflects in part investor concern over debt-funded AI spending. Tesla, another Musk company, reported ⁠negative ​free cash flow in the second quarter for ​the first time in more than two years as the EV maker accelerated spending on AI infrastructure, ​battery capacity, robotaxis and next-generation manufacturing.