Michael Burry’s short bets on Tesla, Caterpillar pay off in big July pullback
Michael Burry’s latest round of bearish wagers against some of the market’s biggest winners has largely paid off after a sharp July sell-off in several of the stocks he targeted. Burry, whose bets against the U.S. housing market were chronicled in “The Big Short,” disclosed in a Substack post on June 30 that he had opened short positions in Caterpillar , Nvidia , the VanEck Semiconductor ETF , Applied Materials and Tesla after strong rallies in each. Short positions are a bet on lower stock prices and involve borrowing the underlying stock, selling it for cash and repaying the loan later at a reduced price. Burry’s biggest winner so far has been Tesla. Shares of the electric vehicle maker plunged 15% on Thursday after disappointing quarterly earnings reported late Wednesday, extending the July decline to about 24% and leaving the stock at $319.69. Burry in late June said he shorted Tesla at $416.22. Caterpillar has also moved sharply in Burry’s favor. The construction equipment maker has fallen about 16% this month to $894.54 from the $1,060.98 level where Burry said he initiated the short position. “I have never shorted Caterpillar. It has always done great for me on the long side in the past,” Burry wrote in the June post. His bearish calls on the semiconductor sector have so far produced mixed results. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF has dropped to about $551 from Burry’s disclosed short entry of $642.80, while Applied Materials has fallen to roughly $562.80 from $729.40. Nvidia, however, has bucked the trend, climbing to about $208.76 from the $198.09 level where Burry said he shorted the stock. Taken together, four of the five publicly disclosed trades have moved in Burry’s favor. There has been a broader pullback in some of the market’s high-flying industrial and technology shares after a powerful first-half rally fueled by enthusiasm around artificial intelligence and associated infrastructure spending. Burry indicated Friday that he remains committed to the bearish view and has increased several of the positions. He said he has not covered his Tesla short, saying that “it gets smaller all on its own.” He also disclosed adding to his Caterpillar short at $893.49 and increasing his Nvidia short at $210.28. “I continue to hold puts in good size,” he said on Nvidia. “I believe much of current and future demand is not driven by end customers, end demand. Much and possibly most is financed, off-balance sheet and not lit. Future revenues are majority financed in a circular arrangement, per the 2026 BIS annual repot.” The investor also said he added to his short position in the VanEck Semiconductor ETF at $535.83, initiated a short in Micron Technology at $933.86 and continues to hold a sizable position in Nvidia put options.
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