Tesla Motors closed at $319.53, reflecting a 0.63 percent decline. The options market, however, painted a more bullish picture. A dominant $9.85 million bull put spread signaled institutional confidence, overwhelming a substantial $3.69 million protective put block. Despite the stock’s slight dip, large traders leaned heavily toward strategies that profit from stabilization or upside, with total bullish premium far outpacing bearish positions.
>>>Unlock Earnings Insights & Commission-Free Trading Benefits!
Options Indicators
TSLA’s implied volatility stands at 46.53%, while its IV percentile is just 7.57%, which indicates current option volatility is on the low side relative to its own recent history and that options are cheaply priced rather than expensive. With the IV/HV ratio at 0.74, implied volatility is also running below historical volatility, reinforcing the view that premium levels are relatively subdued and that current option pricing does not reflect an elevated volatility regime. The Call/Put volume ratio is 1.20.
Large Trades
A bullish put spread with a total traded amount of $9.85 million was the largest featured strategy, built by selling 1,460 contracts of the 360.0 put expiring 2026-08-07 and buying 1,090 contracts of the 355.0 put with the same expiration. As a bull put spread, this structure is typically used to express moderately bullish directional exposure while also generating income if TSLA stays firm above the short-put zone into expiry. Based on the provided leg premiums, the short 360.0 puts brought in $5.93 million while the long 355.0 puts cost $3.92 million, leaving a net premium received of $2.00 million. With both strikes above the reference stock price of $319.53, the structure is in-the-money at initiation, but the overall positioning still reflects a bullish stance through premium collection and a defined-risk spread profile.
A put buy worth $3.69 million was the other major trade, consisting of the purchase of 1,202 contracts of the 350.0 put expiring 2026-08-07. This is a straightforward bearish options position, giving the buyer downside exposure and likely serving either as a speculative bearish wager or as portfolio protection against further weakness in TSLA. The 350.0 strike is in-the-money relative to the reference price of $319.53, which makes the contract more sensitive to the stock’s downside path and suggests the buyer was willing to pay up for substantial intrinsic value and more immediate hedge-like protection.
Overall, the large-trade flow in TSLA leans bullish. The sentiment summary shows bullish activity clearly outweighing bearish flow, and that positive tilt is reinforced by the day’s dominant premium event being a sizable bull put spread rather than an outright bearish structure. Even though there was a meaningful in-the-money put purchase that points to caution or hedging demand, the broader large-trade picture suggests institutional participants were more inclined toward a constructive outlook, favoring strategies that benefit from stabilization or strength in the stock rather than positioning for a decisive breakdown.
Strategy Reference
With IV percentile at a depressed 7.57%, premium selling is less attractive; traders seeking a bullish position could sell the OTM 250.0 put for a low assignment probability, or consider a call debit spread to define risk while capitalizing on any upside momentum.
Comments