The “Big Short” investor takes aim at Tesla’s market cap, Elon Musk’s $1 trillion pay package, and what he calls a tech bubble that’s disconnected from business fundamentals.
Michael Burry, the famed investor portrayed in The Big Short, has launched a new critique of Tesla’s valuation, calling the electric vehicle giant “ridiculously overvalued” and warning that Elon Musk’s newly approved $1 trillion pay package will only dilute the company’s stock further.
In a post on his Substack platform, Burry said:
“Tesla’s market capitalization is ridiculously overvalued today and has been for a good long time.”
Tesla’s market cap stands at $1.38 trillion, with stock trading around $427 per share as of Monday, far above typical auto industry metrics. Burry, who gained fame for predicting the 2008 financial crisis, claimed that Tesla fans have followed a pattern of delusional optimism:
“The Elon cult was all-in on electric cars until competition showed up, then all-in on autonomous driving until competition showed up, and now is all-in on robots — until competition shows up.”
A GREATER TECH BUBBLE?
Burry’s latest comments are part of a broader warning about what he calls a tech bubble that has inflated stocks across several major firms, including Nvidia and Palantir. Burry recently disclosed large bearish positions against both companies, warning that the market is disconnected from business fundamentals.
In response to Burry’s comments, Palantir CEO Alex Karp dismissed him as “bats–t crazy.”
Burry’s return to public commentary follows his deregistration of his hedge fund last month and the launch of his Substack, where he promises more direct, unfiltered analysis of the financial landscape.
COMPETITION IN THE EV MARKET
While Tesla remains the dominant player in the U.S. electric vehicle market with around 41% market share as of August 2025, Burry argues that this dominance is shrinking as competition from traditional automakers and newer entrants heats up.
Tesla’s stock has gained 11% this year, bouncing back from a volatile period tied to Dogecoin-related trading and macroeconomic headwinds. However, analysts have questioned the sustainability of Tesla’s sky-high stock price, particularly as the company faces growing competition in the EV space.
Burry’s critique centers on the excessive optimism baked into Tesla’s market price, as well as Musk’s gigantic $1 trillion pay package, which ties Musk’s compensation to Tesla reaching an $8.5 trillion market cap in the next decade — nearly twice the size of Nvidia.
