Summary of short positions on RKLB and TSLA

by Grok

By "float short ratio," RKLB is much more aggressive than Tesla; by dollar nominal, Tesla's short volume is larger.$Tesla(TSLA.US) $Rocket Lab(RKLB.US)

Same settlement date 2026-10-15 (FINRA / ChartExchange):

So your point about it being "more aggressive than Tesla" holds for relative positioning: RKLB's shorts on the float are roughly 3x that of Tesla. Tesla just has a massive float; while its absolute short share count and dollar value are higher, the ratio isn't actually that high.

Looking at "accumulation": RKLB has piled up from a low of ~19.6M shares in late Feb this year to ~45.3M now (with a mid-year spike, +25% single period on 6/30). Recent periods have seen steady additions in the 43–46M range, not a one-off spike. The public borrow fee rate is around 0.3%, with ample availability—indicating heavy shorting, but far from a "hard-to-borrow" squeeze setup.

Interpretation: The market is using shorts to hedge against "high valuation / execution and competitive risks" (launch cadence, Neutron, space stock valuation pullbacks). An 8% float short + 2 days to cover expresses enough pessimism, but doesn't support a "shorts must blow up" narrative; to watch for a true squeeze, monitor borrow fees spiking, days to cover extending, and daily volume plummeting.

If you're running a long/short pair or position with RKLB vs. Tesla, let me know your direction, and I'll help break down the risk along that line.