Tesla Stock Eyes Nine Straight After China Manufacturing Nod

This is Tesla's longest winning streak ever

Elon Musk and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) got some good news this morning, after the electric carmaker was added to China's government list of approved automotive manufacturers. With the certificate, Tesla can now begin manufacturing in China, and aims to produce 1,000 Model 3s per week by the end of 2019.

In response to the approval, Tesla stock is up 1% to trade at $262. This is pacing to be Tesla's ninth straight win, its longest winning streak on record. And on Monday, TSLA conquered its 200-day moving average for the first time on a closing basis since late February.

Short sellers have started to head for the hills amidst this hot streak, and continued covering could keep the stock's engine running. Short interest fell 7.3% in the most recent reporting period to 36.06 million shares, the lowest since mid April. This still takes up a hefty 27.2% of TSLA's total available float though, and a week's worth of buying power, at the stock's average pace of trading.

There's similar pessimism among analysts, probably due to the security's 20% year-to-date deficit. Of the 20 in coverage, 14 rate it a "hold" or worse, while the consensus 12-month price target sits at $246.46, a 5% discount to last night's closing perch of $259.75.