Why Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares were last year’s worst short bet

The Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) share price had an incredible run in 2020. Shares in the electric vehicle (EV) maker climbed 707.4% higher in 2020 to US$694.78 by year end.

According to an article in The Australian Financial Review (AFR), that made Tesla shares one of the worst short bets on the American market in the last 12 months.

Why Tesla shares were a bad short bet in 2020

Short selling is quite a simple concept. A short-seller borrows shares in a company, sells those shares and waits for the price to drop. The idea is that the short-seller can then buy those same shares back for a lower price after the drop and return the borrowed shares back to the owner with a tidy profit in their pocket.

In the case of Tesla shares, many…