Tesla sees $8 billion retail inflow over 13-day buying frenzy amid plummeting prices

Retail traders just poured $8.1 billion into Tesla stock over 13 straight trading days. That’s not some random hype—it’s the biggest retail buying streak by dollar amount in more than ten years, according to JPMorgan.

Emma Wu, a strategist there, said, “While this is not the longest consecutive streak of retail buying in TSLA, it is the highest magnitude among all past ‘buying streaks’ in over a decade.”

Retail is clearly still deep in buy-the-dip mode. Wu said these trades show that small investors are hunting for opportunities while the market as a whole slides into correction. But as retail piles in, the ones running Tesla are quietly heading for the exits.

Insiders dump hundreds of millions while retail buys the dip

Since November, Tesla insiders have sold off $335.2 million worth of stock. The group includes board members, the CFO, and even Kimbal Elon, Elon’s brother. Most of those shares were unloaded when the price was between $300 and $400. Meanwhile, the stock was sitting at $242 as of Friday.

James Murdoch, a Tesla board director, sold $12.9 million worth of shares on March 10 at around $240 per share. While insiders took profits, Elon Musk tried to keep morale alive. Speaking to employees during a town hall Thursday evening, he said, “If you read the news, it feels like armageddon. I can’t walk past the TV without seeing a Tesla on fire. What’s going on?”

He urged staff to hold their shares, saying the real value will show when autonomous driving hits the market. “So what I am saying is, ‘Hang on to your stock,’” Elon told employees. That didn’t stop the bleeding on the chart though. Even with a 40% gain over the past year, Tesla shares have still crashed 40% in 2025 alone, hit by weak sales and market fears.

The company’s latest financials didn’t help. For Q4 2024, revenue came in at $25.71 billion, only a 2% increase, and missed forecasts of $27.26 billion. Automotive revenue dropped 8% to $19.8 billion because of cheaper vehicle prices.

Operating income fell 23% to $1.6 billion, and net income collapsed 71% to $2.32 billion. That was partly due to a one-time tax benefit that helped last year’s numbers look better. The company also saw its first yearly drop in deliveries, with just under 1.8 million vehicles shipped for 2024.

High valuation draws criticism as RSI hits oversold levels

Tesla’s forward P/E ratio is now sitting at 92.4x, compared to the sector average of 15.1x. That’s a massive gap, and with slowing growth and rising competition, some investors are asking how long the company can justify that kind of premium.

But not everyone’s bearish. Rich Ross at Evercore ISI said the stock is in an “extremely oversold condition.” He pointed to a Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 32, which is way down from its former peak of 72. “When you have a trillion-dollar company with a 32 RSI and a market cap that has decreased by 55%, that’s an extremely oversold condition,” Ross said. “The risk-reward scenario becomes quite appealing given the extreme levels in terms of price and momentum.”

But outside of stock charts, the brand is getting attacked on the ground. Boycotts, protests, vandalism, and arson have hit Tesla showrooms, EVs, and charging stations in both the U.S. and Europe. These moves have been tied to Elon’s involvement in the Trump White House, which continues to stir backlash.

Elon pushes tech vision as trade risks and sales decline hit

Elon spent most of the town hall promoting what’s coming next. He claimed that a future with robotaxis, AI, and humanoid robots will change everything. “What’s the most exciting future that you could possibly imagine?” he asked employees. Then he answered: “A future of abundance for all,” where people “could literally just have anything you want.”

He also bragged about the Model Y, saying it would be the best-selling car on Earth again this year, and called it “available worldwide.” The Cybertruck, despite getting hit with a massive recall the same day, was still promoted by Elon as the top-selling fully electric pickup, and he said it scored a 5-star crash rating.

He also gave a shoutout to Tesla employees who helped get the refreshed Model Y to market, saying supply chains across three continents made it hard, but they pulled through. He hyped the upcoming Cybercab, a two-seater with no steering wheel or brakes, which will eventually run on Tesla’s robotaxi software via an update. That’s a promise Elon has been making since 2016, when he said Tesla owners would be able to take a driverless road trip across the U.S. by the end of 2018. That never happened.

Tesla’s sales are also slipping. New vehicle sales are falling in Europe, China, and parts of the U.S. The company is facing more problems due to tariffs put in place by President Trump through executive orders. These hit materials from Canada, Mexico, and China—all key supply sources for Tesla’s production.

According to Edmunds, more Tesla owners are trading in their EVs than ever before. That data lines up with the broader frustration being felt in the market and on the streets. Still, on Friday, Tesla stock jumped 5.3% to $248.71 after Elon’s team meeting.

Elon tried to offer some kind of hope. “It’s very difficult like for people in the stock market, especially those that look in the rearview mirror — which is most people — to imagine a future where suddenly a 10 million vehicle fleet has five to ten times the usefulness,” he said. “It’s so profound and there’s no comparison with anything in the past that it does not compute. But it will compute in the future.”

Whether Wall Street buys that story or not is a different question.

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