In an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, CEO Alex Karp sharply criticized short sellers – investors betting on a decline in the corporate’s stock price.
“I love burning short sellers,” Karp told CNBC’s Sara Eisen on “Money Movers.” “Almost nothing makes a man happier than taking lines of cocaine from these short sellers who, as they please, are missing out on a truly great American company. “Not just ours, but we just love taking down big American companies so they can pay for their coke.”
Palantir shares rose 9.8% on March 6 after Palantir announced that its tactical intelligence access node would be selected by the US Army. TITAN uses artificial intelligence to provide information about the missiles’ target.
When stocks rise, short sellers are willing to buy back the shares, potentially at a huge loss.
“The best thing that can happen to them is that we take their coke dealers to their homes when they can’t pay their bills,” Karp said. “You know, do your thing, we’ll do ours.”
Palantir shares are up about 47% this 12 months. In late February, about 5% of the corporate’s publicly traded shares were sold short.
Karp also told CNBC that the corporate has lost employees and expects to lose much more due to his public support for Israel.
Palantir, known for its government contracts in defense and intelligence, has provided its technology to support the armed forces of Ukraine and Israel of their wars.
