TSLA Options Activity Signals Short-Term Bullish Bias: A Call Setup at $380 with $400 as Key Resistance to Watch

• TSLA is down 4% today after opening at 364.03.
• Call open interest is up 36% week over week with heavy volume at 380 and 400 strike prices.
• MACD and RSI suggest a pullback, but bullish momentum remains intact.

Tesla is in the middle of a key turning point in its price action — and the options market is showing it. While the stock is down sharply today, the call-heavy open interest suggests market participants are still betting on a bounce. The question is not if it will recover — it’s how high and how fast.

Bullish Options Sentiment and Whale Moves Point to a $380–$400 Battle

Let’s start with the options. Open interest tells a very clear story: bulls are still in the room. For this Friday’s expiration (April 3), the top OTM calls are clustered between 380 and 400. The $380 call has 14,318 open contracts, while the $400 call is at 16,913. That’s a strong concentration of call buying — especially when you consider the stock is trading at 365.91.

Put open interest is smaller. The top puts are at 160 and 255, which are so far out of the money they barely matter in today’s context. This suggests the market is more focused on a short-term rally than a deep selloff.

And then there’s the block trades. Two major call blocks were executed today at $357.5 and $362.5, each with 1,000 contracts. One was a buy, the other a sell — but both suggest activity from large players. These aren’t just random trades; they signal that smart money is moving in, trying to establish or adjust positions ahead of Friday’s expiry.

Company News: Strong Earnings, New Products, and Regulatory Hurdles

Tesla has been a juggernaut in the first quarter. It reported a $3.5 billion net profit — well above estimates — and announced a new energy product, “Tesla Energy Plus,” aimed at industrial customers. There’s also talk of a $4 billion acquisition of battery supplier NeoVolt, which could bring more control over production costs. And to top it off, the company announced a $3.5 billion buyback program — all of which bodes well for long-term fundamentals.

But there’s also noise. A recent report from Jefferies raised concerns about short-term margin pressures and supply chain bottlenecks. And now, Tesla is under a regulatory inquiry in Germany over battery component sourcing. These risks are real — and they’re likely weighing on investor sentiment today.

Still, the news flow overall is positive. Strong earnings and strategic moves in energy and manufacturing give the company momentum. If the stock can hold its 363.38 intraday low and move back above 380, the next level of buyers is right at 400.

Trade Setup: Play the Bounce with Calls or a Stock Buy at 365–368

Let’s be practical. If you’re bullish on Tesla, here’s how to structure it:

• Option Play (Good for shorter-term traders): Buy the TSLA20260403C380 call. It’s expiring Friday, and given the open interest and block trades at similar strikes, there’s a real chance it moves meaningfully. If the stock recovers above 380 by Friday, this could be a 30–50% move in the contract’s value.

• Another Option Play (For those holding a little longer): Buy the TSLA20260410C400 call. This gives you extra time to see if the earnings momentum and news flow carry through into next week. If Tesla breaks 400, the options will gain significant leverage.

• Stock Play (For more conservative traders): Look to enter at $365–$368, ideally as the stock bounces off the lower Bollinger Band (356.83). If it breaks the 380–381.37 resistance zone — which is key on the 30-day chart — then the next target is 390. A clean break above 390 would signal a strong reversal and could take the stock back toward 400 and beyond.

Volatility on the Horizon: Keep an Eye on 380–381.37

TSLA is at a crossroads. The options market is clearly bullish, the news is mixed but ultimately positive, and the technicals suggest a pullback could be near-term. But the key to all of this is whether the stock can hold above the 363.38 level and move back above 380.

If it breaks and closes below 363.38 — the intraday low — the next support is the 356.83 Bollinger Band. That’s where you’d expect to see a stronger reaction from buyers. If it can’t get there and hold, the bearish block trades and open interest at the 200D average (423.55) may take over.

But if bulls hold their ground, the path is clear to 390 and 400. The coming hours and days will tell whether today’s dip is a buying opportunity or a warning sign.