SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX) is facing intensified bearish pressure as short sellers ramp up their bets against the company, with nearly 185 million shares, or about 29% of the public float, now sold short. This represents $25 billion in wagers, a significant increase from just three weeks ago when short interest was between 5% and 7%. The surge in short selling comes as SPCX’s stock struggles, having dropped below its $135 IPO price on Wednesday for the first time, marking a drawdown of roughly 40% from the June 16 record high of $225.64. The stock has lost approximately $283 billion in value last week, overshadowing Boeing Co.’s entire market cap of $169 billion.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has issued a stern warning to those betting against the company. "The survival probability of firms who maintain a significant short position in SpaceX over time is very low," Musk tweeted in response to a user questioning the logic of short sellers. The user suggested that short sellers are well-educated individuals with "perfect resumes" who fail to grasp the company's long-term potential and total addressable market. Musk’s comments, highlighted by Teslarati, coincide with a rebound in SpaceX shares on Tuesday.

Musk’s History vs. Short Sellers

Musk has a long history of antagonism toward short sellers, particularly during his tenure at Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA). In 2018, he told short sellers they had "about three weeks before their short position explodes." He has repeatedly stated that short selling should be illegal. Musk famously clashed with billionaire Bill Gates over a short position in Tesla, refusing to discuss philanthropy unless Gates closed the trade. "Sorry, but I cannot take your philanthropy on climate change seriously when you have a massive short position against Tesla," Musk told Gates. In 2024, he predicted short holders would be "obliterated" upon Tesla achieving full autonomy and volume production of the Optimus robot.

Analyst Criticism

Former hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson remains bearish on the SpaceX IPO. Despite shares trading below their IPO price, Tilson advises investors to stay away. "Don’t even think about bottom-fishing this one, as it still trades at 92 times trailing revenues," Tilson wrote. "That means it’s still nearly 10 times overvalued, given that I think a generous multiple for the stock would be 10 times revenues." Tilson previously called SpaceX "the most overvalued large-cap stock of all time." He also cautioned investors to take analyst price targets with a grain of salt, citing the $500 million fee pool associated with the IPO.

Technical Levels and Market Structure

SPCX is currently positioned well below its 20-day simple moving average, indicating a bearish trend. The stock’s price is 17.4% below this moving average, suggesting weak momentum. The RSI sits at 31.98, which is considered neutral but recently dipped into oversold territory on July 7, 2026. Despite the recent downturn, SPCX trades 43.74% above its 50-day simple moving average of $87.04 and 218.27% above its 200-day simple moving average of $39.31, indicating a long-term uptrend remains intact. The MACD sits below its signal line with a negative histogram, pointing to fading upside pressure.

Key Metrics

JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon said on Monday that SpaceX’s plan to build artificial-intelligence data centers in orbit could work, offering a prominent Wall Street endorsement as the newly public company’s shares hover near their IPO price. Dimon called Starlink an "extraordinary product" after visiting SpaceX operations, stating he had seen numbers on the space-based data centers that support their economic potential. JPMorgan helped market SpaceX’s record $75 billion IPO, which priced at $135 per share in June.

Orbital Computing’s Economic Potential

Dimon shared his assessment on "The Master Investor Podcast with Wilfred Frost." He argued that orbital computing could leverage cheap solar power, reduce cooling expenses, and bypass constraints facing ground-based facilities. While acknowledging the difficulty of returning data to Earth, Dimon noted that laser links could redirect transmissions between satellites to mitigate cloud interference at receiving sites.

Technical And Commercial Risks Remain Unresolved

SpaceX operates more than 10,000 Starlink satellites, the world’s largest low-Earth-orbit communications network. Elon Musk plans to test orbital AI computing by the end of 2027 using technology derived largely from Starlink V3 spacecraft. Musk has described solar-powered orbital data centers as a "no-brainer" and indicated SpaceX could fly the first systems next year.

The concept remains unproven. SpaceX warned in its IPO filing that orbital data centers may never become commercially viable. Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman has called the idea "pretty far" from reality, citing launch capacity and payload costs as significant barriers.

Investors Debate Valuation As Shares Retreat

Investors remain divided over the company’s prospects. Deepwater Management Managing Partner Gene Munster has argued that SpaceX’s rockets, satellites, and AI stack create a "sovereign AI" advantage that competitors cannot easily match. Conversely, The Future Fund LLC’s Gary Black has focused on valuation, cautioning that investors should not pay roughly 150 times projected 2026 EBITDA.

SpaceX shares recently slipped below their IPO price after reaching a high of $225.64 on June 16. Short sellers accumulated an estimated $8.7 billion in paper gains as the stock declined. Dimon’s praise follows a major thaw in his relationship with Musk, whom he called "our Einstein" in 2025 and later "the Edison of our time." Musk recently replied to a viral post reviving the comparison with, "Thanks, Jamie!"