The Big Short/Netflix
Michael Burry has been sounding the alarm on hype and speculation in markets for months, warning that the reckless promoting and buying will result in a devastating crash.
The investor has taken aim at Tesla – which he’s short – as well as bitcoin, Robinhood, and the GameStop buying frenzy in recent weeks.
The Scion Asset Management chief is best known for his billion-dollar bet against the US housing bubble in the mid-2000s, which was immortalized in Michael Lewis’ book “The Big Short.” He was played by Christian Bale in the movie adaptation.
Here are Burry’s 17 best tweets, lightly edited and condensed for clarity:
1. “Markets have now bubbled over in a dangerous way.”
2. “People say I didn’t warn last time. I did, but no one listened. So I warn this time. And still, no one listens. But I will have proof I warned.”
3. “Fads today (#BTC, #EV, SAAS, #memestocks) are like housing in 2007 and fiber/.com/comm/routers in 1999. On the whole, not wrong, just driven by speculative fervor to insane heights from which the fall will be dramatic and painful.”
4. “Speculative stock #bubbles ultimately see the gamblers take on too much debt. #MarginDebt popularity accelerates at peaks. At this point the market is dancing on a knife’s edge. Passive investing’s IQ drain, and #stonksgoup hype, add to the danger.”
5. “So, @elonmusk, yes, I’m short $TSLA, but some free advice for a good guy….Seriously, issue 25-50% of your shares at the current ridiculous price. That’s not dilution. You’d be cementing permanence and untold optionality. If there are buyers, sell that #TeslaSouffle.”
6. “Well, my last Big Short got bigger and Bigger and BIGGER too….$TSLA $60 billion increase in market cap today alone…1 GM, 2 Hersheys, 3 Etsys, 4 Dominos, 10 Vornados…enjoy it while it lasts.”
7. “$BTC is a speculative bubble that poses more risk than opportunity despite most of the proponents being correct in their arguments for why it is relevant at this point in history. If you do not know how much leverage is involved in the run-up, you may not know enough to own it.”
8. “I don’t hate $BTC. However, in my view, the long-term future is tenuous for decentralized crypto in a world of legally violent, heartless centralized governments with #lifeblood interests in monopolies on currencies. In the short run anything is possible – why I am not short #BTC.”
9. “A doge’s breakfast maybe. We are in a blow-off top in all things.” – commenting on the hype around dogecoin.
10. “I went public when it was cheap, and I went public when it was time to get out. Same with anything else. Calling it as I see it, and sharing a bit. In 2005-6 it was not so easy to share.” – on investing in GameStop then exiting it.
11. “Hey, $GME is now a $stonk and may go >$1000, but if I made a life-altering amount in this stock, I’d punch out. Main Street has Wall Street by the cojones. Great story/LOVE it. Tee it: bulls make money, bears make money, #pigsgetslaughtered. #Fundamentals.”
12. “There really can’t be another GME. Nothing else is/was even close to as shorted (100+% of float), so small (microcap) and so hated/ignored/dismissed prior to the #thebigshortsqueeze. It was a uniquely perfect set up. There won’t be another like it. Much like #thebigshort.”
13. “If I put $GME on your radar, and you did well, I’m genuinely happy for you. However, what is going on now – there should be legal and regulatory repercussions. This is unnatural, insane, and dangerous.”
14. “If you do not use #robinhood, you have to see it to understand what #gamification of #stonks/options means. So here it is. If this looks like a serious investing app to you, and NOT a dangerous casino ‘fun for all ages,’ you’ve been #gamified.”
15. “Special Purpose Acquisition Companies, or #SPACs (~ blank check companies), are hotter than ever. Companies going public this way are not well-vetted. Anyone with a reputation has incentive to do a SPAC & consummate a deal, regardless of quality.”
16. “It is too early, she is too hot, and, today, short sellers are timid, but Wall Street will be ruthless in the end.” – on Ark founder and CEO Cathie Wood.
17. “I am not running for president. I am far too flawed. Do you really want to see a cross-eyed President of the United States of America? No one really wants that. I’d have to wear a patch, and I don’t want to wear a patch.”