After last week, I am forced to agree with you. Last week, I had my calls but my put order did not get filled in time. So I lost money on both sides.

Last trade on a 200p was $9.60 on Friday. I am certain it was cheaper during the day, The last trade on a 195c was $8.90. Again, I am certain the cost was lower during the day.

Last trade on Friday on 1 200c was $6,60, and a 195p was $6.90. So the difference between your strategy and my slight modification saves approximately $5 per share in investment up front. That is the size of the hurdle which needs to be climbed in order to yield a profit.

I find that evaluating different options strategies is hard because of a lack of historical data. Therefore strategies can be tracked forward but rarely backward without actual trades.

What is your experience?

Moon: In terms of percentage profit in 1 week, is it better to have the put strike lower than the call?

I am certain that HVAC is one of the new businesses Elon hinted about during the Q4 earnings call. If you think about it, which business is not directly or indirectly involved with autos? I am certain that the disruptor in Elon gets excited every time he sees possible improvements in non-auto businesses.

BETA system was considered better than VHS for years when the VCR battle was fought,

With just over 5 minutes left in the trading week, it is Timor to be thinking about how the SP will end up.

I think, based on nothing but past observation, the price will be ALLOWED TO float up to over $197.

Keen: I am SOOO glad that Moon answered your question himself. I just call it the Moon Strategy.

I have already got calls at 205 and 210. So I am trying to get puts at 195, in order to limit my investment.

On another subject: TSLA has been manipulated down in the pre-market because of relatively low volumes. I bet the stock will close higher today after approaching 215.

Sorry. Here is the link:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/focus-gigapresses-giant-die-casts-070000344.html

This Reuters article talks about the gigaPress, and has one statement that bothered the heck out of me:

"I bet 80% of automakers will use gigaPresses by 2035, at least for BEV cars based on new platforms," Ferrario said. "But the real question is: will we need even bigger gigaPresses?"

My question is: 'WHY NOT FOR IC CARS?" I think the answer is unwillingness on the part of management to tamper with supplier contracts, and possibly union contracts.

On another angle I hope Tesla has some protection against deliberate or accidental disclosure by IDRA.

Almost as bullish a forecast as mine:
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4576680-worm-capital-q4-2022-investor-letter

Dan: I am now using two separate accounts for my options trading - My ROTH account and our joint TRUST account. In the ROTH I have 210C expiring next week that I paid $9.15 for. Initially I was offering less, but eventually I changed to a market order. Of course it is worth less already. I placed an order to sell at 12.50, but it topped out at 12.

I also have 210C expiring tomorrow that I paid 3.50 for on a whim. Right now it is worth 2.35.

In the TRUST account I am trying to buy the 210C for next week, but offering just $7.

THAT I understand. NOBODY likes to lose money. BUT with TSLA I sense animosity towards the company, its CEO and its products.

TTTR: I have never lost faith in TSLA. I DID have to sell some of my holdings at ridiculous prices to stay afloat, and have made a decision to not buy back. So that is the capital I am using to fund my options games. I am at heart a buy-and-hold investor, and will continue to do that unless I am convinced that Moon's strategy is a good replacement.

chk: Is there anything we can do?

So what is your mark for next week?

Moon: I realize Zelle is not tradable as a separate entity (YET). However, after its IPO, it will be. It overtook Venmo in 2018. The best thing about Zelle? It NEVER takes your money, although scam artists can and DO. Venmo will let you use debit cards and even credit cards. However, using a credit card to earn cash back and/or points is not worth it because they charge a fee. Zelle has stuck to the basics: bank account to bank account.

Moon: As a trader, you can take any time off that you desire. However, some days CAN be more expensive than others! I took the Panama Canal cruise from Dec 18 to Jan 2. However, I had wifi, so FULL ACCESS to the markets.

TTTR: THAT, is called ingrained skepticism!
https://finance.yahoo.com/video/tesla-stock-rises-upon-elon-212727023.html

Hear the skepticism in the day? See it in the lady?
https://finance.yahoo.com/video/tesla-stock-rises-upon-elon-212727023.html

Moon: I do love it. It is just the kind of thing I do sometimes. It rarely turns out well, though.

By the way I have a sort of spreadsheet for my trades. Hopefully I will keep it updated as I make more and more trades. As it is, Schwab has branded me a Pattern Day Trader and imposed additional capital requirements on me. Fortunately that will not be a problem, yet.

Here is the bottom line:

Overall, I have had five winning weeks in a row. The only losing week was the first week when I was still trying to wrap my head around making money on a down day. THAT IS WHAT THE PUTS ARE FOR, silly!

The first week, my calls and puts expired worthless. I lost $2.50 per share but could have SO EASILY had a winning week.

Week 2 featured my first two BLATANT errors. In spite of my mistakes I made about $7 per share.

Week 3 was the week following MLK Day and was essentially a sideways trader. The stock opened at $125.70, reached a high during the entire week of $136.68 and closed at $133.42. I made just $1.25 on options.

Week 4 ran from Monday 1/23 to Friday 1/27. TSLA went up EVERY day of the week, it opened at $135.87, reached a high of over $180 and closed at $177.90. Also by this time I was trading fairly confidently and made over $9 per share net profit.

Week 5 was my best week so far. I made about $11.50 per share in spite of the stock price languishing in the 180s most of the week. The stock itself was up almost $12 during the week.

The current week is Week 6 of my experiment. I am currently up less than $1. But I do hope to make some more tomorrow and Friday.

VERDICT; I am absolutely sold on the strategy. You just have to watch market action in order to pick a mark and then it is pretty much prescribed actions. You do not have to worry about which way the stock will move. I think it is an awesome tool for a volatile stock like Tesla. Special events like Investor Day and car sales number release days and earnings days are especially suitable for the strategy. I am not ready to put ALL my Tesla investment into this strategy yet. BUT I am increasing my exposure every week. THANK YOU, Moon.

Moon: I have a question for you. The question comes about because I was trying to compile my gains and losses for the five or six weeks I have been using your strategy. I found out it is awfully hard. Part of the problem is that my trading history still shows some option trades that I entered per my old strategy. However, it is awfully hard to just figure out trades related to your strategy by itself. The things I would like to track are expiration date, trade date, call and put strikes, amounts paid and received (I realize that some options will not be sold, they will be allowed to expire worthless). You have said before that you do not spreadsheet your trades. However, do you have any suggestions for the format of a spreadsheet that could track all my trading?

JJ: are you in?

Yup. If I do get the order with sideways trading, I would hope trading is anything but sideways the next two days.

Moon: I think there is a lot of upside left in TSLA. The reason is that even with the $100 increase in the last 5 weeks or so, TESLA's PEG is at under 1.

Dan

I just sold my 2/10 calls and puts. Unlike Moon, I do NOT hang on to puts that are close to worthless for essentially worthless protection, I am up for the week, but I cannot resist a reset. I have entered a combined order for puts and calls at a strike of 202.50. I will probably not get the options because I am offering $8 while the ask right now is just a shade under $10.

There is NO reason for TSLA to go down. I believe TSLA is shielded from the macro conditions that sway NASDAQ. However, TSLA is not immune to the mid-morning swoon that seems to affect ALL stocks.

I will keep you guys informed.

In rereading my post I realized that I have probably made the same mistake again - I got the expiration date wrong on the 205 puts. I just went back and revised the order. Now the asking price is a more realistic $9.85. My offer is now $8. Therefore, Moon's strategy will require an outlay of about $6 per share more. Now the final outcome is in doubt.

You deserve a break!

By the way, I have entered orders in separate accounts for a straddle point of $202. One uses your strategy of a higher put price than call. The other reverses it. So, in our TRUST account, I have entered an order for calls at $200, and puts at $205 (your strategy). Asking price on the calls is $9.2. My offer is $8. Asking price on the puts is $5.15, my offer is $4. My ROTH account has the positions reversed in keeping with what I have been doing so far. Calls at 205 and puts at 200. Asking price on the calls is $7.35, my offer is $6. Asking price on the puts is $5.15, my offer is $4. WE WILL SEE. In the ROTH my outlay is expected to be lower by approximately $2 per share. I fully expect that Moon's strategy will win out.

Pre-market manipulation of the TSLA stock price is possible because of lower dollar requirements.




Pre-market manipulation of Tesla stock price is possible because the dollar volume is relatively low. However, if the weakness persists after market open, you may suspect some issue. I doubt very much it will persist.

chk: I am still a faster driver than my wife. Tesla cars have quick acceleration - that is true. but the driver is still in control.

Moon, thanks for posting. The article is very sobering especially for budding new drivers. I promptly forwarded it to my 17-year old grand son.

Yes. I have found that women generally are more conservative in investing. However, many men who appear to be fairly rash in their personal preferences - motor boat, motor cycle, sports car - live in fully paid up homes.

Almost 15 minutes into regular trading, TSLA is indeed trading sideways...I do not understand markets!

Mind you, I do not trade much in the pre and after markets.

Currently, TSLA is up just over $1.50 in spite of the market makers' best efforts. When they get hit with $50 million+ per minute at 9+30 am, they will give up!

Moon, perhaps I asked my question wrong. I thought you made your profile on selling the calls. Did you sell the puts?

chk: You said:"I don't have the money to play that way and Tesla is so volatile." You are obviously a fairly conservative buy-and-hold investor with most of your funds tied up in buy-and-hold stocks. You do not have any margin on your account(s). That is cool. My wife is the same way. If she had her druthers, she would pay off the home loan at under 2%, and get our other properties also free and clear. That way, she reckons, they will be OURS. I totally disagree. If you can consistently make more money on borrowed capital than the cost of capital, by ALL means, BORROW!