Tesla closed at USD 351.12, up 4.23%.
Tesla’s options tape flashed a distinctly bullish signal on Tuesday, as institutional-sized traders sold out-of-the-money puts worth $3.56 million in premium. The dominant trades targeted the $320 and $280 strikes, with sellers collecting income and signaling confidence that the stock will hold above those levels over the coming months. Bearish activity was negligible at just $0.11 million, leaving a net bullish gap of $3.45 million and pointing to a market that is harvesting premium rather than positioning for a pullback.
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Options Indicators
TSLA’s implied volatility stands at 45.45%, and with an IV percentile of just 6.77%, current option pricing sits near the low end of its historical range. Combined with an IV/HV ratio of 0.71, this suggests implied volatility is running below realized volatility, reinforcing the view that options are relatively cheaply priced and that the market’s near-term volatility premium is subdued. The Call/Put volume ratio is 1.46, indicating that call activity is outpacing put activity in overall volume terms, which aligns with the constructive tone seen in the large-trade flow.
Large Trades
A $1.88 million short put was the largest displayed block, with 2,894 contracts sold at the 320.0 strike expiring on 2026-09-18. With TSLA referenced at $351.12, this put was out-of-the-money at execution, making it a moderately bullish income-oriented trade. The seller collected premium by taking on downside assignment risk below $320.0, which suggests a view that TSLA is likely to stay above that level over the life of the option or that any weakness would remain manageable relative to the premium received.
A $1.64 million short put was the second major displayed block, with 1,500 contracts sold at the 280.0 strike expiring on 2027-01-15. This strike was also out-of-the-money versus the $351.12 stock reference, and the trade carries a similarly bullish interpretation. Strategically, this looks like longer-dated premium collection with a willingness to accumulate stock at a substantially lower level if assigned, indicating confidence that TSLA can hold well above $280.0 over a long horizon.
Overall, the large-trade flow was clearly bullish, with $3.56 million in bullish premium versus just $0.11 million in bearish activity, for a net bullish gap of $3.45 million. The tone of the order flow was driven overwhelmingly by sizable out-of-the-money put selling, especially in longer-dated maturities, which points to investors favoring premium harvest and expressing confidence in downside support rather than positioning for an immediate selloff. The conclusion from the bulk orders is that institutional-sized activity leaned decisively bullish on TSLA.
Strategy Reference
For traders looking to replicate the institutional posture with a lower margin requirement, a bull put spread such as selling the $280.0 put and buying the $250.0 put expiring on 2027-01-15 offers a defined-risk way to collect premium while maintaining a bullish stance, with assignment probability kept low by the deep out-of-the-money strike.
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