Tesla short outlines the bear essentials

Short-seller Fahmi Quadir, who’s betting against Tesla, said the carmaker faces risks to its supply chain because some vendors haven’t been getting paid.

Quadir, the founder and chief investment officer of Safkhet Capital, made a name for herself by shorting the drugmaker formerly known as Valeant Pharmaceuticals around its peak in 2015.

She said her firm sees some sup- pliers to Tesla filing for bankruptcy, which poses particular risk to the carmaker because many of its components are single-sourced.

“We question the ability for Tesla to actually deliver on their promises to their customers when they’re on the brink of potentially a massive supply-chain disruption,” Quadir said in an interview on Bloomberg Television.

“We see very little contingency planning, and we also see executives from the supply chain department departing in recent weeks and months.’’

Quadir, 28, didn’t identify any suppliers or vendors by name.

A Tesla spokesman declined to comment on Quadir’s remarks.

The company has said previously that it regularly reviews whether suppliers are meeting all their obligations and that this can lead to payment delays.

Tesla also downplayed the significance of it requesting more time to pay vendors by calling it a common industry practice.

Tesla shares were trading higher early Friday and dropped following Quadir’s comments.

The stock fell $3.91, or 1.5 percent, to $262. The stock is down about 18 percent this year.