Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Wiki Selling TSLA Options - Be the House

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
Congratulations! That is very inspiring!!

Would you mind sharing in % how much your account grew in this first year of trading spreads?
Also, it seems like you are not following @adiggs and @BornToFly methods of using super large spreads. I have found that when rolling I like being able to increase the spread when I get in trouble, and that is difficult to do when you start with a large spread. Is that why you use $50 spreads?
Pardon me for jumping in. If you've had experience with them, then rolling or recovering $30-50 spreads is not as much drama as it seems. It's all about overall account margin management and discipline (not being too greedy). As you've suggested you can widen the spread, but that can get risky depending on how much extra margin it consumes. I will reserve this as a last resort. Generally it's better to roll them before the negative strike goes ITM for credit. But this risks rolling something that may expire anyway. But then rolling late in the week gets expensive as the positive side of the spread loses a lot of value relative to the next weeks position. Often I'm OK with rolling for a small debit and look to make up the difference on the BCS side (if BPS) or in other trades.

Narrower spreads will give a greater overall return for the margin/cash used. The approach @Yoona is taking (and one I will be moving more towards) is to carefully and strategically select strikes in volume that should remain safe without being extremely OTM. So then it's less of an issue of needing to roll and continuing to profit from the larger return. Done consistently this can result in a much greater overall return, even accounting for the odd correction or loss.

The approach I'm generally seeing people doing with wider spreads is to select very conservative way OTM strikes and then use the wider spread range to boost the premium. It may not yield as much return overall but is arguably much safer. Ultimately it's up to each individual to decide on a strategy that feels right for them and aligns with their risk tolerance and goals.
 
Last edited:
So I have an issue with E-trade with two covered calls that I wanted to close and for some reason their system say that I don't have no enough funds to close the trade but I do. I contacted them and this is what they say:


View attachment 739456

That's kind of scary.
Are you using power Etrade or the main website?
are You using margin?
do you have other option postions?
etrade ( and others) have algorithms that change the paring and you may have to manually adjust it using power etrade. Although it would be odd to change it from a covered call
 
Pardon me for jumping in. If you've had experience with them, then rolling or recovering $30-50 spreads is not as much drama as it seems. It's all about overall account margin management and discipline (not being too greedy). Narrower spreads will give a greater overall return for the margin/cash used. The approach @Yoona is taking (and one I will be moving more towards) is to carefully and strategically select strikes in volume that should remain safe without being extremely OTM. So then it's less of an issue of needing to roll and continuing to profit from the larger return. Done consistently this can result in a much greater overall return, even accounting for the odd correction or loss.

The approach I'm generally seeing people doing with wider spreads is to select very conservative way OTM strikes and then use the wider spread range to boost the premium. It may not yield as much return overall but is arguably much safer. Ultimately it's up to each individual to decide on a strategy that feels right for them and aligns with their risk tolerance and goals.
Good summary - thank you
 
Are you using power Etrade or the main website?
are You using margin?
do you have other option postions?
etrade ( and others) have algorithms that change the paring and you may have to manually adjust it using power etrade. Although it would be odd to change it from a covered call

Power E-Trade.
The trade was on my wife's roll over IRA account.
I had some BPS and a cash covered put with $55k of buying power left. The required funds to close the covered call was $1600.

Anyway, I end up calling E-Trade and even they couldn't get the trade to close or knew what was going on. They had to do an override and get a manager to sign off lol. My buying power went right to zero after closing the covered calls.
 
Bonjour, mes amis! (Hello, my friends!) I shut down my 12/3 IC's BPS... $1M in 2 weeks - do you like it, boys? :cool:

View attachment 739446

The BCS i am closing on Fri.

In other news... Today is my 1-year anniversary doing options! I lived to tell the tale! I survived one full year of wins and losses (some were really, really, really painful). Can you imagine my first BPS had a width of 5??? I think -p600/+p595 😂

THANK YOU SO MUCH
THANK YOU SO MUCH
THANK YOU SO MUCH

... to this thread and to everyone for your postings, comments, not advices, corrections, support, messages, help, trades that i copied, etc. I truly appreciate every single thing. I read all postings. This thread is my fave nighttime reading after i finish playing online games. In the morning, it's the TSLA ticker (of course), then maxpain, then Papafox, then this thread again. Always in that order. Some postings i print. Some i am still reading again up to now and STILL don't get it (ie LEAPS and timing it). I finally understand theta now... still working on what in the world has a strike price's vega got to do with anything.

If i have to give an anniversary speech and not be a drama queen, here's the #1 lesson i learned the most from experience: DO. NOT. BE. GREEDY. But what does it mean exactly?

When opening a position, don't let the credit determine if it's a go. The first priority is to make sure the strategy/position will give a very high probability of success. Then, get the credit, whatever amount it is. Too low? Suck it up. Does it matter? It pays the bills and you're doing this the next 30 years anyway. Nobody wants a loss... to avoid it, don't chase better premiums coz they come with higher risks. Slow and steady cash building up week after week is the key to surviving one year. Ask me, i know!

THAT IS ADVICE! YES! FOR REAL! (sorry for yelling) 😬


Congratulations Yoona, this is really awesome.

I agree with your lesson to not be greedy.

Quick question: When did you open your IC? Just based on the strike prices I’d imagine the stock was not too far OTM. Also what was the BCS leg of your IC? I need to learn more of the Iron Condor stuff and try to be more slow and steady. The way I understand IC is that it’s a combination of BPS and BCS. I will go back and read some of your old posts if you have already mentioned this particular IC trade. Thanks.
 
Curious, any if you have short term feeling for the direction of the market?
This one @12:50
Talks possible 800-900 prices for TSLA, seems outrageous to me.
Yet I know these crazy push downs only last a week judging from the earlier 550s we saw this year… very dedicated effort that causes panic, stop loss triggers, margin calls etc. Applicable to us, to me at least in the margin call category. Can they do it with this stupid omicron?
I am quite leveraged, might look into deleveraging a bit by eow.
 
Last edited:
  • Informative
Reactions: UltradoomY
Curious, any if you have short term feeling for the direction of the market?
This one @12:50
Talks possible 800-900 prices for TSLA, seems outrageous to me.
Yet I know these crazy push downs only last a week judging from the earlier 550s we saw this year… very dedicated effort that causes panic, stop loss triggers, margin calls etc. Applicable to us, to me at least in the margin call category. Can they do it with this stupid omicron?
I am quite leveraged, might look into deleveraging a bit by eow.

I don’t see it. The reason is take a look at what’s happening with AAPL as the market tanked. There is still a lot of liquidity in the market and I’d have to believe that Tesla could be looked at as a safer investment given it’s strong fundamentals, low debt and future revenue growth/margin improvements.
 
Congratulations! That is very inspiring!!

Would you mind sharing in % how much your account grew in this first year of trading spreads?
Also, it seems like you are not following @adiggs and @BornToFly methods of using super large spreads. I have found that when rolling I like being able to increase the spread when I get in trouble, and that is difficult to do when you start with a large spread. Is that why you use $50 spreads?
Great post earlier by Chenkers. I've thought about starting with a narrower spread and leaving enough margin to widen if necessary. But that strategy doesn't make sense to me, because you are paying more for the long leg with a narrow spread. If you are doing fewer spreads to save margin, then you are better off starting wide to pay less for the long leg and maximize profit. When I was doing $50 spreads, I was only saving margin for an SP dip and subsequent margin reduction, but was otherwise using it all to open as many as possible. That is how you make money with narrow spreads - sell a lot of them (more leverage). The problem is that opening more narrow spreads increases the losses if things go rapidly in the wrong direction, like they did for me Hertz week with my BCS.
 
Last edited:
I'm hoping we bounce back tomorrow or Friday. Omicron caused market dump today because of US case. Obviously only N of 1, but the news tonight said person was vaccinated, only had mild symptoms, and is already improving. Hopefully panic sellers are buyers again soon.
This is totally manic depressive after first dipping 2% on omicron, then recovering the next day. Hello what changed, 1 case?
I’m like totally lost.
 
This is totally manic depressive after first dipping 2% on omicron, then recovering the next day. Hello what changed, 1 case?
I’m like totally lost.
Yep, it's stupid. There is simply no way to keep a more contagious strain from entering the country and spreading, and it is probably already here more than we know. If the vaccines protect, it should be a nothing burger. If we learn there is minimal protection from the vaccines and prior infection, there should be more of a dip because we are going back to square 1.
 
I don’t see it. The reason is take a look at what’s happening with AAPL as the market tanked. There is still a lot of liquidity in the market and I’d have to believe that Tesla could be looked at as a safer investment given it’s strong fundamentals, low debt and future revenue growth/margin improvements.
All makes sense but 2x+ drop today, old habits die hard. I guess growth stocks get pummeled hard. We hope that our thinking makes sense, but market decides otherwise.

Maybe it’s this TSLA beta thing
Tesla, TSLA & the Investment World: the Perpetual Investors' Roundtable
Once the credit rating is improved, we get 1x drops instead of 2x, but also 1/2 commissions 🥲
 
Last edited:
Bonjour, mes amis! (Hello, my friends!) I shut down my 12/3 IC's BPS... $1M in 2 weeks - do you like it, boys? :cool:

View attachment 739446

The BCS i am closing on Fri.

In other news... Today is my 1-year anniversary doing options! I lived to tell the tale! I survived one full year of wins and losses (some were really, really, really painful). Can you imagine my first BPS had a width of 5??? I think -p600/+p595 😂

THANK YOU SO MUCH
THANK YOU SO MUCH
THANK YOU SO MUCH

... to this thread and to everyone for your postings, comments, not advices, corrections, support, messages, help, trades that i copied, etc. I truly appreciate every single thing. I read all postings. This thread is my fave nighttime reading after i finish playing online games. In the morning, it's the TSLA ticker (of course), then maxpain, then Papafox, then this thread again. Always in that order. Some postings i print. Some i am still reading again up to now and STILL don't get it (ie LEAPS and timing it). I finally understand theta now... still working on what in the world has a strike price's vega got to do with anything.

If i have to give an anniversary speech and not be a drama queen, here's the #1 lesson i learned the most from experience: DO. NOT. BE. GREEDY. But what does it mean exactly?

When opening a position, don't let the credit determine if it's a go. The first priority is to make sure the strategy/position will give a very high probability of success. Then, get the credit, whatever amount it is. Too low? Suck it up. Does it matter? It pays the bills and you're doing this the next 30 years anyway. Nobody wants a loss... to avoid it, don't chase better premiums coz they come with higher risks. Slow and steady cash building up week after week is the key to surviving one year. Ask me, i know!

THAT IS ADVICE! YES! FOR REAL! (sorry for yelling) 😬
Splendid!

-p1050 that's pretty close to the recent price action, and the $50 width, there's $2million loss in very short order of things go Texas Institute up... I wouldn't sleep...

So I'm curious how you manage that stress level, or what your plan would be if we'd dipped back sub $1000, which could have happened if we'd got a couple of Elon selling days in a row

I guess it's all down to the ability to roll. Weird thing is that I'm super experienced now with rolling naked, but the concept of rolling a spread seems alien, I guess I need to setup a small yolo spread, daring the short to go ITM and then see how I cope

But big respect to you, sir!
 
I was expecting Elon would sell some shares yesterday so I have set my 12/10 BPS order for -850/+650 & -890/+700 for 12/3. I waited very patiently and set the limit order for $7 and $5 based on estimation from optionsprofitcalculator.com if SP could drop to around $1100. When the SP was around 1120 and hang it for a while, I had a dilemma if I should just go ahead with $6 and $4 at that time. However, I decided to wait even longer and there's no more drop, greedy kills deal
Yesterday I set my BPS 50% @ -850/+650 & 50% @ -890/+700 for 12/10 again because it couldn't filled in previous day. Eventually -890/+700 got filled at 5.5 & 6.5, while -850/+650 got filled at 3.5 & 4.5
 
  • Informative
Reactions: UltradoomY
Bonjour, mes amis! (Hello, my friends!) I shut down my 12/3 IC's BPS... $1M in 2 weeks - do you like it, boys? :cool:

View attachment 739446

The BCS i am closing on Fri.

In other news... Today is my 1-year anniversary doing options! I lived to tell the tale! I survived one full year of wins and losses (some were really, really, really painful). Can you imagine my first BPS had a width of 5??? I think -p600/+p595 😂

THANK YOU SO MUCH
THANK YOU SO MUCH
THANK YOU SO MUCH

... to this thread and to everyone for your postings, comments, not advices, corrections, support, messages, help, trades that i copied, etc. I truly appreciate every single thing. I read all postings. This thread is my fave nighttime reading after i finish playing online games. In the morning, it's the TSLA ticker (of course), then maxpain, then Papafox, then this thread again. Always in that order. Some postings i print. Some i am still reading again up to now and STILL don't get it (ie LEAPS and timing it). I finally understand theta now... still working on what in the world has a strike price's vega got to do with anything.

If i have to give an anniversary speech and not be a drama queen, here's the #1 lesson i learned the most from experience: DO. NOT. BE. GREEDY. But what does it mean exactly?

When opening a position, don't let the credit determine if it's a go. The first priority is to make sure the strategy/position will give a very high probability of success. Then, get the credit, whatever amount it is. Too low? Suck it up. Does it matter? It pays the bills and you're doing this the next 30 years anyway. Nobody wants a loss... to avoid it, don't chase better premiums coz they come with higher risks. Slow and steady cash building up week after week is the key to surviving one year. Ask me, i know!

THAT IS ADVICE! YES! FOR REAL! (sorry for yelling) 😬
Do not be greedy says the person who just cashed out a million over two weeks.

😁😁😁

Amazing Yoona! I am late to this party here, but great job.

If slow and steady cash building means 25 mill a year I have no doubt you are OK.

Keep at it and all the best!
 
This is totally manic depressive after first dipping 2% on omicron, then recovering the next day. Hello what changed, 1 case?
I’m like totally lost.
The market is toppy and looking for reasons to sell off after monstrous rally this past year. Trying to ID the trees by listening to the news and MM who are just as clueless and manipulated as anyone and lead with whatever convenient headline they have laying around to explain market moves that are beyond them does not allow one to see the forest.
 
Power E-Trade.
The trade was on my wife's roll over IRA account.
I had some BPS and a cash covered put with $55k of buying power left. The required funds to close the covered call was $1600.

Anyway, I end up calling E-Trade and even they couldn't get the trade to close or knew what was going on. They had to do an override and get a manager to sign off lol. My buying power went right to zero after closing the covered calls.
I'm sure it has something to do how Etrade does the IRA.
They have many errors in their system and when reported they basically couldn't care less