datathe1st

Tesla will likely need to raise around $5-10B to complete all of the capital investments they need to perform over the next few years. If short sellers use negative news to bring the stock price down it raises the dilutive cost to Tesla of raising more capital.

Secondly there are people who are incredibly intelligent but just too busy living their life to do in depth research about every article they read online, especially if it's from a trusted source. These negative articles have actually prevented people from buying the car because they think the company won't be around to service them in a year or two.

Fake news and a barrage of "sponsored" negative headlines can lead to Tesla actually going bankrupt.