Retail investors in South Korea are starting to lose interest in EV maker Tesla (TSLA) and are shifting their money to more volatile options, such as crypto stocks. Indeed, in August, individual Korean investors sold a net $657 million worth of Tesla shares, which was their largest monthly selloff since at least early 2019, according to Bloomberg’s analysis of depository data. At the same time, many of these investors bought into Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), a stock that is considered a proxy for Ethereum, which pulled in $253 million in net inflows. The move suggests that investors are becoming frustrated with Tesla’s lack of excitement and are chasing new trends.
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For instance, one investor who bought Tesla shares back in 2019 told Bloomberg that he sold earlier this year because the company no longer felt inspiring. In his view, Tesla has failed to lead with a compelling AI story, and other stocks now seem to offer more upside. As a result, over the past four months, Korean investors have pulled out a total of $1.8 billion from Tesla stock. This is a major change from the COVID-era, when Korean traders helped drive Tesla’s rallies by pouring in money.
The shift in sentiment is also visible in the trading of the Direxion Daily TSLA Bull 1.5X Shares ETF (TSLL), an ETF that gives leveraged exposure to Tesla. In fact, TSLL saw $554 million in outflows last month, which was the biggest monthly drop since at least early 2024. Interestingly, though, even with this recent selling, Tesla is still the most heavily owned foreign stock among Korean retail investors, who collectively hold about $21.9 billion in the company’s shares. In comparison, Nvidia (NVDA) and Palantir Technologies (PLTR) are a distant second and third, respectively.
What Is the Prediction for Tesla Stock?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on TSLA stock based on 13 Buys, 14 Holds, and eight Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average TSLA price target of $306.42 per share implies 8.2% downside risk.
