ELON VS. THE SHORTS

BETTING AGAINST TESLA IS A REALLY BAD LOOK

- DANA HULL

Randeep Hothi was driving north on California’s Interstate 880 in April when he spotted a red Tesla Model 3. The sight was unremarkable—in Fremont, where Hothi’s parents live and Tesla has its auto plant, the electric sedans are everywhere— but this particular vehicle stood out.

It had manufacturer’s plates, suggesting it was a prototype of some sort. More conspicuously, it also had a camera mounted on a custom tripod rising about 5 feet above the trunk. A second camera inside the cabin pointed at the steering wheel and center console. Two passengers rode in back, behind the driver.

Hothi instantly surmised what was happening: Tesla was filming a demo, likely related to the Autopilot driver assistance technology that Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk had lately been talking up. Hothi tucked his white Acura in behind the sedan and started tailing it.

He isn’t a cop or a private investigator, and though he’s sold shares of Tesla Inc.’s stock short, he’s not a professional investor, either. Hothi is something much more dangerous: a grad student with a Twitter account. For the past few years, he’s dedicated much of his free time to the idea that Musk isn’t the successful technologist he’s widely considered to be.