TSLA's Jan-2026 460 Call Sees 10,594 Contracts Traded—Large Sellers Dominate Early Market Flow
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Most Active Option: Jan-02-26 460 Call Accounts for Nearly 7% of All TSLA Volume
Tesla’s (TSLA) options market started the day with a flurry of activity focused on the Jan-02-26 460 Call. By 9:56 AM, this contract saw 10,594 contracts change hands, making up 6.9% of the entire TSLA options volume for the session. This option has become a lightning rod for traders seeking to position themselves around a potential recovery or continued weakness, given TSLA’s early dip to $444.09—a 2.40% drop, or $10.91 lower than yesterday’s close.
| Contract | Volume | % of Total Volume | VWAP Price | IV (VWIV) | Last Trade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan-02-26 460 Call | 10,594 | 6.9% | 16.88 | 45.4 | 15.60 |
Order Flow Suggests Heavy Institutional Selling
Diving deeper into the order flow, institutional-sized traders were overwhelmingly active—99% of trades came from large participants, while just 1% came from retail. Strikingly, 86% of contracts were sold, suggesting that most market players today were looking to exit positions or potentially hedge against further downside in TSLA shares.
Open interest for this strike had already grown by 632 contracts in the previous session, bringing total open interest to 1,444. While today’s burst of trading won’t show up in the open interest data until the next settlement, it’s worth watching whether these trades are opening new positions or closing existing ones as more data becomes available tomorrow.
Pricing Trends Indicate Volatility Is Holding Steady
Implied volatility for this call contract hovered near recent levels, with a volume-weighted implied volatility (VWIV) of 45.4%. That’s slightly down from the previous day’s close at 45.8%—a marginal decrease of 0.8%. Prices reflected the downward trend in TSLA’s stock: the call opened at $16.72, traded as high as $17.30 and as low as $15.42, with the last print at $15.60. That’s a notable drop from the previous close of $20.68, indicating sellers accepted much lower prices, likely reflecting waning near-term bullishness or the urgency to manage risk.
| Previous Close | Open | High | Low | Last Trade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20.68 | 16.72 | 17.30 | 15.42 | 15.60 |
Technical Indicators and Volatility Paint a Neutral-to-Slightly Bearish Picture
With TSLA shares trading sharply lower this morning and implied volatility little changed, the aggressive selling of this high-strike, long-dated call may reflect a neutral-to-bearish stance among sophisticated traders. Sellers of this contract are either cashing in on recent premiums or see limited probability that TSLA will recover above $460 by early 2026—unless there’s a dramatic change in market sentiment or Tesla’s fundamentals.
For now, traders should note the dominance of large, institutional players in today’s action. Until tomorrow’s open interest figures are updated, it remains to be seen if these contracts are fresh bets against further rallies or if professionals are closing positions after the recent surge in open interest. In either case, the Jan-02-26 460 Call will be a key contract to watch for those tracking TSLA’s next move.
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