To drop or not to drop... that is the question. Will TSLA drop back near $1000 after the current run-up, or is the run-up fueled by more than short covering and S&P front-running?
How about a third possibility? -- shorts and S&P are driving the run-up now, but other catalysts will replace them soon.
Index funds will be forced to buy TSLA at any price after S&P 500 inclusion, so the height of the run-up will depend on when current longs get unnerved by it and sell. If they HODL long enough, other catalysts will appear, such as:
1) new factory announcements and Shanghai/Berlin progress
2) Q3 production and delivery report (Sept 2-3), likely a record-breaker
3) Battery/Shareholder Day (Sept 22), which Elon said will be "mind-blowing"
4) maybe new product reveals at Battery day: Plaid S/X? Roadster 2?
5) Q3 earnings report (late Sept), likely another record-breaker
Barring disaster (earthquake, terrorism), #1-5 seem enough to keep the stock pretty high. But there is one more whopper of a catalyst in which few people seem to believe, even though Elon has been adamant that it is coming by year-end.
Personally, I believe Elon. Yes I know he has been too optimistic before, but every day of his team's progress brings him more information on which to base his estimates, and he learns from his mistakes.
So here is my advice to skittish longs who want to run with the money when they see TSLA galloping upward: