Option Focus | Tesla Sees Large Bearish Block Trades: $40M Put Buying Suggests Hedging; Call Selling Signals Near-Term Caution

Shares of $Tesla(TSLA)$ closed at $360.59, down 5.42%, after first-quarter deliveries came in below market expectations, weighing on sentiment.

Weaker deliveries are putting pressure on valuation in the near term. However, potential catalysts in the second half include the rollout of a lower-cost vehicle and progress in Full Self-Driving (FSD) licensing, which could help stabilize margins and revive demand and earnings growth. On the downside, continued macro demand softness or weaker-than-expected monetization of software revenues could extend the stock’s correction.

Options Market Overview

1. Implied Volatility (IV) and Activity Snapshot

• Implied Volatility: 50.14% (as of Apr 3, 2026)

• IV Percentile: 20.32%

• Call/Put Ratio: 1.22

Analysis:
Tesla’s implied volatility is currently at a relatively low historical level, suggesting options are comparatively inexpensive and that expectations for near-term price swings have moderated. The call/put ratio slightly above 1 indicates sentiment is not decisively bearish.

2. Open Interest (OI) Positioning – Key Levels

Focusing on contracts expiring April 10, 2026:

• The $400 strike call holds the largest open interest, with 12,176 contracts, marking a key upside resistance zone.

• On the downside, $350 and $360 strike puts have accumulated 9,745 and 5,091 contracts respectively, indicating protective or speculative demand at those levels.

3. Block Trades Point to Diverging Strategies

Large trades over the past two sessions highlight increasingly complex positioning:

• Major downside hedge or bearish bet:
  A block trade involved the purchase of 2,925 deep in-the-money put contracts (Apr 17, 2026, $500 strike), with a total premium of approximately $41.13 million. Simultaneously, there was selling of $450 strike puts with the same expiry, suggesting a possible bear put spread structure, potentially to hedge existing equity exposure.

$TSLA 20260417 500.0 PUT$

• Near-term upside capped:
  A separate block trade saw the sale of 4,751 out-of-the-money call options (Apr 6, 2026, $380 strike), implying expectations that the stock may struggle to break above $380 in the short term, while collecting premium income.

$TSLA 20260406 380.0 CALL$

• Low-cost tail-risk hedge:
  Additionally, 7,500 deep out-of-the-money puts ($230 strike, Apr 10, 2026) were purchased at low cost, resembling insurance against extreme downside scenarios.

Takeaway:

These flows collectively suggest that some institutional players are seeking downside protection following the recent decline (via put buying), while others are positioning for limited upside in the near term (via call selling).

Strategy Takeaways

Given the relatively low implied volatility environment, options sellers may consider writing out-of-the-money calls above the $400 level to capture time decay. For those seeking defined risk, constructing bear put spreads could offer a more controlled way to express a cautious or hedged outlook.