but they arent shorting them just because they are pre revenue....

but they arent shorting them just because they are pre revenue. It's because of many factors that make them think it's both overvalued and that they won't be caught out unable to buy back lower later. With lithium many forecast dramatic oversupply and price falls on the back of massive price hype. Sya were amongst many lithium companies being heavily shorted.
entirely different scenario shorting one of two in a global duopoly where geopolitical lines govern the customer segmentation. That could be suicidal for shorters... especially with our market structure being so tight.
also by the time sya and co were being shorted there were lithium discoveries being made frequently so the market dynamics (or at least narrative) was changing just as frequently. That complexity or lack to clarity over the future state of supply and demand makes for a much easier shorting/fear scenario. When you have the only high grade discovery in 70 years...