I don't get this. I can't imagine the professional investor class is still blindly following their shorts. They're all out by now, aren't they? If the "little guys" are making money I tend to think it's coming from other little guys.
As for the shorts, Melvin and Citron are out but new shorters get in every day. The higher the price goes the more incentive there is to short. Most will probably lose money as the bubble inflates. But a few will make out like kings when it pops.
Consider a potential attitude that Citadel is going to get away with this blocking. I mean, maybe ... just maybe ... they'll get an SEC fine of a few hundred million (while protecting many hedge funds from billions in losses). In a worst case scenario a sacrificial scapegoat or two goes to a minimum security country club or house arrest for 6 months/1 year. But that will take a few months/years to come to pass and public sentiment will be much less hot. So they're probably gonna force the price down to unwind existing shorts.
So, since there is a potential that the price will be pushed down due to the above ... doesn't it make sense to open a new short position?