Shares of electric car maker Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) nabbed a new record high of $435.31 out of the gate, after revealing it will deliver the first 15 Model 3 cars made in its Shanghai factory on Monday. While the shares have since pared those gains to trade up 0.2% at $431.58, today's lift is just another step in a long-term climb for TSLA. The stock now up more than 144% from its early June bottom. Year-to-date, the equity has added 29%, and this afternoon is pacing toward a seventh straight daily gain.
Short sellers are heading for the exits, and a continued exodus could be a boon for TSLA. Short interest on the stock has dropped over 9% during the past two reporting periods, and now accounts for 21.4% of the equity available float. So at TSLA's average pace of trading, it would take short sellers just over three days to repurchase their bearish bets.
Now looks to be an attractive time to bet on the carmaker's next moves with options. This is per Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 46%, which sits in the 28th percentile of its annual range. In simpler terms, options players are pricing in relatively low volatility expectations right now.