Remember Porter Collins? Yeah, the guy from “The Big Short” who made bank betting against the housing bubble while everyone else was still buying McMansions with NINJA loans. Well, he’s back with some spicy takes, and this time Tesla is in his crosshairs.
Collins just dropped what might be the most brutal Tesla roast of 2026, calling Elon’s baby the “poster child” for overvalued stocks. Ouch. That’s like calling someone’s startup the “poster child” for burning venture capital – technically accurate, but it stings.
Here’s the thing that’s got Collins all worked up: Tesla stock has nearly doubled since April, which sounds great until you realize their actual car sales are… not doubling. In fact, they’re declining. It’s like watching your friend’s Instagram followers skyrocket while their actual social life implodes.
The numbers are pretty wild when you break them down. Tesla trades at almost 300 times its projected 2026 earnings. For context, that AI darling Nvidia – you know, the company literally powering the robot revolution – trades at a “modest” 45 times earnings. It’s like Tesla is priced for perfection in a world where they’re not even the biggest EV maker anymore (thanks, BYD).
Collins isn’t mincing words: “I honestly think Tesla is just a meme stock.” He’s basically saying people aren’t buying Tesla because of spreadsheets and quarterly reports – they’re buying because Elon tweets something about robots or Mars, and suddenly everyone’s throwing money at it like it’s Dogecoin with wheels.
But here’s where it gets interesting. Collins isn’t actually shorting Tesla, and neither is his “Big Short” buddy Michael Burry (who’s also been throwing shade at Tesla lately). Why? Because meme stocks can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent, as the saying goes. Just ask anyone who tried to short GameStop in 2021.
“Meme stocks have tended to be high flyers,” Collins admits. “Some have come back to Earth, but others have not.” Translation: Tesla might be overvalued by traditional metrics, but traditional metrics don’t account for the Elon Effect.
The Tesla bulls will tell you this is all about AI and autonomous driving and robot butlers that’ll make you breakfast. The bears will point to declining sales and competition from every automaker on the planet. Collins? He’s just calling it like he sees it – a company trading more on vibes than fundamentals.
Whether Tesla eventually justifies its sky-high valuation or comes crashing back to automotive reality remains the million-dollar question. Or in Tesla’s case, the trillion-dollar question. Either way, it’s going to be one hell of a ride.
Just remember: when legendary short-sellers start calling your stock a meme, it might be time to double-check your investment thesis. Or buy more – hey, this is America.