Jim Chanos (left) speaks with Forbes editor Matt Schifrin on stage at the 2025 Forbes Iconoclast Summit.

When legendary investor Jim Chanos entered the stage at the 2025 Forbes Iconoclast Summit Thursday, he had a big smile on his face thanks to the very public feud that had erupted behind President Donald Trump and the world’s richest person, Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Chanos, who first shorted Tesla stock back in 2016, said of the spat: “Most predictable breakup ever.”

With a long and successful track record of betting against overpriced or fraudulent companies, Chanos’ latest big short is used-car retailer Carvana. Just as intriguing, he’s also looking to short companies that will lose out in the race for artificial intelligence.

“Carvana is a misunderstood story: The Street believes it is an epic turnaround, but in fact, the company is still losing money,” said Chanos. “Although it is priced as a growth stock, the business is cyclical.” He pointed, for instance, to how, in mid-2023, its core business dropped by more than 30% year-over-year, when there was a slight slowdown in the economy.

Chanos noted the Street’s is focusing on the company’s gross profit margins. But, he argued, those margins are a product of aggressive accounting that inflates both unit economics and corporate profitability while excluding many components that other auto dealers typically include.

“Carvana is making all this money in finance, not selling cars,” explained Chanos. “They are a subprime lender.”

Carvana’s stock has a........

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