Option Focus | Tesla’s $780K Synthetic Put and $4.09M ITM Call Buy Reveal a Battle Between Bearish Institutions and Bullish Long-Term Bets

Option Witch
Sep 26

Tesla closed at $372.11, down 1.54%.

Large options flow showed a clear split in institutional sentiment. The largest featured trade was a $780,000 net-credit synthetic put, combining short $450.00 calls and long $350.00 puts expiring in December 2027. On the other side, a $4.09 million in-the-money call purchase for October 2026 reflected a long-term bullish bet. The simultaneous appearance of bearish synthetic exposure and bullish premium buying suggests institutions are positioning for both near-term downside and eventual upside recovery in Tesla.

>>>Start OPTIONS trading & earn up to SGD 200 in rewards!

Options Indicators

Tesla’s implied volatility is 44.87%, and with an IV percentile of 10.36%, current option pricing sits on the low end of its historical range, indicating volatility is relatively subdued and options are cheaply priced rather than expensive. The IV/HV ratio of 1.04 also suggests implied volatility is only slightly above realized volatility, so option premiums appear fairly close to recent actual movement rather than showing a major volatility premium.

The Call/Put volume ratio is 1.85.

Large Trades

A synthetic put structure with a $780,000 net credit was the largest featured trade, pairing the sale of 2,000 TSLA December 17, 2027 $450.00 calls with the purchase of 2,000 December 17, 2027 $350.00 puts. With TSLA referenced at $372.11, the short $450.00 call was out of the money and the long $350.00 put was also out of the money, creating a clearly bearish synthetic short exposure. The trader collected premium upfront while positioning for downside in the stock over a long-dated horizon, effectively expressing a negative directional view rather than a simple volatility trade.

A call purchase worth $4.09 million was the other highlighted block, consisting of 2,913 TSLA October 2, 2026 $360.00 calls bought outright. With the stock at $372.11, this strike was in the money at the time of execution, making it a straightforward bullish position with meaningful intrinsic value already embedded. The buyer was paying up for upside participation and likely looking to maintain leveraged exposure to further gains while limiting risk to the premium spent. Overall, the large-trade flow still leans bearish: although the biggest outright premium outlay among the displayed trades was a bullish in-the-money call buy, the broader block activity was dominated by downside-oriented positioning, including the top-ranked synthetic put and multiple additional bearish or premium-selling structures, indicating that institutional sentiment remains skewed toward caution and downside risk in Tesla.

Strategy Reference

For a low assignment probability, a seller could target the October 17, 2025 $500.00 call, which is far out of the money given Tesla’s current price and the low IV percentile; alternatively, traders seeking defined risk without posting large margin could use a bear put spread such as buying the September 2025 $360.00 put and selling the September 2025 $320.00 put.

Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.

Most Discussed

  1. 1
     
     
     
     
  2. 2
     
     
     
     
  3. 3
     
     
     
     
  4. 4
     
     
     
     
  5. 5
     
     
     
     
  6. 6
     
     
     
     
  7. 7
     
     
     
     
  8. 8
     
     
     
     
  9. 9
     
     
     
     
  10. 10