Tesla closed at USD 348.95, down 3.83% from the previous close.

A $4.53 million net credit short strangle capped upside at the 380.00 strike while defining downside risk at 330.00, dominating institutional flow. At the same time, a $2.11 million purchase of 355.00 calls expiring in September 2026 injected a contrarian bullish signal into an otherwise cautious large-trade picture.

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Options Indicators

TSLA’s implied volatility is 44.59%, and with an IV percentile of just 5.18%, current option volatility sits near the low end of its historical range. That suggests TSLA options are relatively cheaply priced rather than expensive, even though the IV/HV ratio of 1.23 shows implied volatility is still running modestly above recent realized volatility. Overall, the market is assigning some premium over actual movement, but in historical terms option pricing remains on the low side.

The Call/Put volume ratio is 1.33.

Large Trades

A premium-collection combination worth a $4.53 million net credit dominated the tape, consisting of a short 380.00 call and a short 330.00 put, both expiring on 2026-10-16. Because this structure includes a Sell Call and a Sell Put, it is best understood as a short strangle rather than a synthetic position. With both strikes out of the money versus the $348.95 reference share price, the trade reflects a volatility-selling stance that collects premium while expressing the view that TSLA is likely to remain within a broad range into expiration, with 330.00 as the downside risk point and 380.00 as the upside risk point. The strategic intent is primarily premium collection, though it also implies a moderately neutral-to-bearish posture if the trader expects upside to remain capped.

A call purchase worth $2.11 million was the largest outright directional leg, involving the purchase of 355.00 calls expiring on 2026-09-25. With the strike slightly above the $348.95 reference stock price, these calls were out of the money at execution, making this a clear bullish directional bet on further upside over the coming year. Even so, the overall large-trade flow leans slightly bearish. The biggest position on the board was a sizable short strangle that favors time decay and suggests expectations for contained price action, while additional call selling in higher strikes reinforces the idea that institutional traders are willing to collect premium against upside. Although there was meaningful bullish interest through the 355.00 call purchase and some smaller supportive trades, the balance of bulk-order activity points to cautious, mildly bearish sentiment rather than a strong conviction bullish outlook.

Strategy Reference

For a low assignment probability on the sell side, a trader could consider selling the 300.00 put expiring in the next monthly cycle, which sits roughly 14% below spot and benefits from the currently depressed IV percentile; alternatively, a 330.00/380.00 short strangle scaled to a smaller size may offer premium collection with defined risk if margin efficiency is a priority.