This Trader Is Bearish On Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA)

Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) may be a stock darling but Dan Nathan explained in a discussion on CNBC why he has a bearish bet on the company.

The revelation of the gloomy outlook on the Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock was made by the CNBC contributor after Elon Musk, the founder and top executive of the company, revealed in an automotive industry convention that sales of his company’s cars in China declined during the fourth quarter.

According to Nathan, really one of the issues he has with the company is that every time Elon Musk has opened his mouth since the high the stock got in September, the stock has been going down. In some ways, Nathan said that Musk does not really care.

It’s because Musk is managing the company much like Jeff Bezos is managing Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), he said. Both of these high-profile technology CEOs are in their companies for the long run, Nathan said, which is why changes like 5% in the stock price of the companies do not change a lot for Musk and Bezos.

“One of the reasons why I put this bearish trade – it’s the first trade I did in the year on January 2 – was because momentum has been waning and the technicals have been horrible and it seems like every time the company tries to get good news out there, we see we’re selling,” Nathan said.

Nathan revealed that he has a Put position in February on Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA). He did acknowledge, however, that China is probably going to be one of the biggest markets for Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA).

Meanwhile, as Nathan still will not cover his short. He said that he is aiming for about $180 which is when shorts cover.

Patrick Mccormack’s Tiger Consumer Management is long Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA). By the end of September, it reported 298,223 shares in the company worth about $72.37 million.