Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bullish stance on Tesla .

And retail traders should know.

We noticed this today when the trades showed up on publicly available options history that we track here at Benzinga.

Whether these are institutions or just wealthy individuals, we don't know. But when something this big happens with TSLA, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.

So how do we know what these investors just did?

Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 160 uncommon options trades for Tesla.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 51% bullish and 40%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 60 are puts, for a total amount of $4,728,210, and 100 are calls, for a total amount of $6,025,264.

What's The Price Target?

After evaluating the trading volumes and Open Interest, it's evident that the major market movers are focusing on a price band between $5.0 and $540.0 for Tesla, spanning the last three months.

Analyzing Volume & Open Interest

Looking at the volume and open interest is a powerful move while trading options. This data can help you track the liquidity and interest for Tesla's options for a given strike price. Below, we can observe the evolution of the volume and open interest of calls and puts, respectively, for all of Tesla's whale trades within a strike price range from $5.0 to $540.0 in the last 30 days.

Tesla Option Activity Analysis: Last 30 Days

Largest Options Trades Observed:

About Tesla

Tesla is a vertically integrated battery electric vehicle automaker and developer of autonomous driving software. The company has multiple vehicles in its fleet, which include luxury and midsize sedans, crossover SUVs, a light truck, and a semi-truck. Tesla also plans to begin selling more affordable vehicles, and a sports car. Global deliveries in 2023 were a little over 1.8 million vehicles. The company also sells batteries for stationary storage for residential and commercial properties including utilities and solar panels and solar roofs for energy generation. Tesla also owns a fast-charging network.

Following our analysis of the options activities associated with Tesla, we pivot to a closer look at the company's own performance.

Tesla's Current Market Status

Currently trading with a volume of 12,887,827, the TSLA's price is down by -0.88%, now at $242.34.

RSI readings suggest the stock is currently may be approaching overbought.

Anticipated earnings release is in 14 days.

What The Experts Say On Tesla

Over the past month, 5 industry analysts have shared their insights on this stock, proposing an average target price of $239.6.

Unusual Options Activity Detected: Smart Money on the Move

Benzinga Edge's Unusual Options board spots potential market movers before they happen. See what positions big money is taking on your favorite stocks. Click here for access.

* An analyst from Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded its action to Neutral with a price target of $245.

* An analyst from RBC Capital has decided to maintain their Outperform rating on Tesla, which currently sits at a price target of $236.

* An analyst from Truist Securities downgraded its action to Hold with a price target of $236.

* Reflecting concerns, an analyst from Cantor Fitzgerald lowers its rating to Neutral with a new price target of $245.

* Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Truist Securities keeps a Hold rating on Tesla with a target price of $236.

Options are a riskier asset compared to just trading the stock, but they have higher profit potential. Serious options traders manage this risk by educating themselves daily, scaling in and out of trades, following more than one indicator, and following the markets closely.

If you want to stay updated on the latest options trades for Tesla, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.