TSLL Becomes First $1B Single Stock ETF

The Direxion Daily TSLA Bull 1.5X Shares (TSLL) became the first U.S.-listed single-stock ETF to surpass $1 billion in AUM on Friday. 

It’s an impressive accomplishment for an exchange-traded fund that launched less than a year ago and only had $168 million in assets under management at the start of 2023. 

TSLL’s success can be attributed to a combination of rapid price appreciation in Tesla’s stock since the start of the year, along with strong money flows into the ETF.  

Since its inception on Aug. 9, 2022, investors have pumped $594 million into TSLL. The ETF’s price is down by 17.6% since that date (versus a gain of 1.5% for TSLA).  

But it’s up by a whopping 291% since TSLA’s low point on Jan. 3 (versus 166% for TSLA itself). 

After losing nearly three-quarters of its value between November 2021 and December 2022, Tesla stock has regained some of the magic that characterized its meteoric ascent in 2020 and 2021.  

Strong vehicle sales, adoption of its EV charging technology by rivals, anticipation of the company’s Cybertruck and robotaxi hopes have all fed into this year’s bullish Tesla narrative.  

Single Stock ETFs 

TSLL’s meteoric ascent is encouraging for the single-stock ETF category. An ETF targeting the right stock at the right time can attract a lot of demand from the aggressive short-term traders that these products are designed for. 

That said, there aren’t a lot of stocks that fit those criteria. Tesla is a unique stock with a cultlike following. An ETF tied to just any stock that happens to be going up isn’t going to cut it.  

The next-most-popular single-stock ETF is the GraniteShares 1.5x Long NVDA Daily ETF (NVDL), with $151 million in AUM. 

Nvidia, like Tesla, is a flaming hot stock. Thanks to its dominant position in the AI industry, Nvidia’s stock has more than tripled this year, fueling gains of 387% for NVDL. There just aren’t a lot of stocks out there that can excite traders in the same way Tesla and Nvidia have.  

Even single-stock ETFs tied to heavy hitters like Amazon and Apple, like the Direxion Daily AMZN Bull 1.5X Shares (AMZU) and the Direxion Daily AAPL Bull 1.5X Shares (AAPU), only have $37 million in AUM each.  

In other words, TSLL is exceptional, and its success will be difficult for other single-stock ETFs to replicate.