Tesla Motors closed at USD 356.09, down 3.22%.

Despite the daily decline, large options activity carried a clearly bullish tilt. The most notable display was a $679,500.00 long-dated put sale at the $270.00 strike, paired with a $163,700.00 call purchase at the $400.00 strike. Both trades stood out in block flow and suggested institutional positioning for continued strength rather than defensive hedging into the close.

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Options Indicators

TSLA’s implied volatility is 44.62%, and with an IV percentile of just 7.54%, current option pricing sits at the low end of its historical range. Even though the IV/HV ratio of 1.10 shows implied volatility is only modestly above realized volatility, the very low percentile suggests overall volatility expectations remain subdued and options are relatively cheaply priced rather than expensive.

The Call/Put volume ratio is 1.18.

Large Trades

A PUT sale worth $679,500.00 was the largest displayed block, with 1,500 contracts traded in the December 18, 2026 $270.00 put. With TSLA referenced at $356.09, this strike sat out of the money, making the trade a moderately bullish expression. Selling an out-of-the-money long-dated put typically reflects willingness to buy the stock lower while collecting premium upfront, and it often signals confidence that TSLA can stay above $270.00 over time. The long-dated tenor also suggests a patient bullish stance rather than a short-term tactical bet.

A CALL buy worth $163,700.00 was the other displayed large trade, consisting of 1,688 contracts in the September 11, 2026 $400.00 call. This strike was out of the money versus the $356.09 reference price, so the buyer was positioning for upside beyond current levels into expiration. As a single-leg call purchase, the trade is a clearly bullish directional bet with defined risk, indicating expectations for a meaningful advance in TSLA while using option premium to gain leveraged upside exposure.

Overall, the large-trade flow was clearly bullish. The biggest highlighted trades both leaned positive, led by a sizable out-of-the-money put sale that implied confidence in downside support and supplemented by an out-of-the-money call purchase targeting further upside. Across the broader block activity, bullish call buying and supportive put selling outweighed the bearish call sales, pointing to institutional sentiment that favored upside continuation rather than defensive positioning.

Strategy Reference

For traders who prefer not to post the full margin required for a short put, a bull put spread using the $270.00 short put and a lower long put could define risk while keeping a low assignment probability below the short strike.