Tech Rout: META, Tesla, SpaceX Lead Broad Selloff
META erased over $100B in market cap on Thursday despite beating earnings estimates, while Tesla cut capex guidance and SpaceX fell 5.1%. Nasdaq dropped 1.55% as AI infrastructure shorts raked in $6B in October paper profits.
What we know
META's 5-year credit default swaps hit an all-time high at 114.5 bps as the stock swung from 680 → 750 → 650 in under 24 hours — an account on X flagging the CDS move early and another account on X tracking the ~$240B swing from yesterday's high. Tesla cut its annual capex forecast alongside Q3 results, and SpaceX erased ~$90B in private market value. AI data center short sellers harvested $6B in paper profits in October, led by $NBIS shorts at $2.94B. Another account on X called the broader macro cocktail — rates, AI bubble fears, geopolitics, and cybersecurity unraveling — as reasons the market needs 'strong doses of hope.' Meanwhile, another account on X sardonically noted AI swarms defending against AI-based attacks while every AI-adjacent stock bleeds.
How the story developed
META erased over $100B in market cap on Thursday despite beating earnings estimates, while Tesla cut capex guidance and SpaceX fell 5.1%. Nasdaq dropped 1.55% as AI infrastructure shorts raked in $6B in October paper profits.
Meta, Tesla, IBM, and Texas Instruments all reported Q3 earnings above expectations. Meta's GAAP EPS badly missed due to a $9.89B one-time legal charge, but adjusted EPS of $7.40 crushed estimates; Tesla's free cash flow massively surprised to the upside at $1.53B vs. a -$4.99B estimate.
META and TSLA both report after close today with options pricing a ~7.22% move for META. Bond markets are strained with a tailing 20Y auction, French yields at 21-year highs, and housing hitting a 25-year sales low.
Tesla and Meta both report after the close Wednesday, creating major binary gap risk. TSLA ran 4% to $368; META slipped to $705. Traders are divided on holding through the event vs. trading the post-earnings reaction.
By the Global Eye 24 desk, with AI assistance. Updated as the story develops. Spot an error? Write to corrections@globaleye24.com.