MEXC Says TSLA Stock Futures Volume Doubled to 137m USDT Ahead of Tesla Earnings

Trading in Tesla-linked stock futures on crypto exchange MEXC more than doubled in the week before Tesla's third-quarter results, according to data released by the company on 22 October. Volume reached about 137m USDT between 12 and 18 October, up from roughly 67.84m USDT the week before.

The exchange linked the jump of about 101% to two events. Tesla unveiled a new Roadster on 15 October, and traders were positioning for quarterly results from both Tesla and SpaceX.

What MEXC reported

MEXC, which issued the figures from Mutsamudu in Comoros, said activity in its TSLA Stock Futures contract picked up sharply in the second half of the 12–18 October window. That lifted the weekly total to about 137m USDT, compared with 67.84m USDT for 5–11 October.

Across the two weeks combined, roughly 204m USDT changed hands in the contract. Nearly two-thirds of that came in the later week, a pattern the exchange presented as evidence of rising interest as reporting dates approached.

MEXC also said TSLA had become one of the contracts in its stock futures range showing the most marked rise in activity before the season's main reporting dates. It did not publish a full breakdown comparing TSLA with other equity-linked products, so the extent of that lead is hard to judge.

The figures are the exchange's own and were released in a promotional announcement. They have not been independently verified, and MEXC did not disclose details such as open interest, the number of active traders or the split between long and short positions.

The Roadster and the earnings calendar

The catalyst cited by MEXC came on 15 October, when Tesla presented the latest version of its Roadster at a Texas site used by SpaceX for testing. The vehicle shown carried a cold-gas thruster system developed with SpaceX, which underlined the technical links between the two companies run by Elon Musk.

Both companies then reported results back to back. On 20 October, Eastern Time, SpaceX released its second quarterly report since becoming a listed company. Third-quarter revenue rose 161% from a year earlier to about $14.6bn, ahead of market expectations, and the shares rose about 6.6% in after-hours trading.

Tesla followed a day later with its third-quarter 2026 results. The carmaker reported a gross margin of 19.6% and adjusted earnings per share above what the market had expected.

The close timing of the two releases, together with the shared technology on show at the Roadster event, gave traders a compressed run of news around Musk's companies. Derivatives that can be traded at any hour are well suited to that kind of event-driven positioning, which helps explain why activity rose in the days before the results.

Why crypto platforms are chasing equity exposure

Stock futures on crypto exchanges are derivatives that track the price of a listed share but are margined and settled in a stablecoin, in this case USDT, rather than in cash at a traditional broker. Users do not own the underlying shares. They are taking a position on the price.

For exchanges, these products offer a way to keep users active when crypto markets are quiet, and to draw in traders who want exposure to well-known companies without opening a separate brokerage account. Large technology names with devoted retail followings, such as Tesla, are natural candidates.

MEXC is pitching its offering around convenience. It says users can trade both TSLA and SPCX Stock Futures, the latter tracking SpaceX, from a single account without moving funds between platforms. The contracts trade around the clock, every day of the week, unlike the underlying shares, which are bound by stock exchange hours. The company also describes itself as a pioneer in zero-fee digital asset trading.

The all-hours feature matters most around earnings. Companies often report after the regular US session closes, and the biggest price moves can occur in after-hours trading or the next morning. A 24/7 contract lets users react immediately, though it also means positions remain exposed through periods when the underlying market is thin or closed.

The announcement also marks a broader shift. SpaceX, long one of the most closely watched private companies, now trades publicly, and its listing has given crypto venues another high-profile name to build products around. Pairing SPCX with TSLA lets an exchange market a single theme, Musk's business empire, across two contracts.

Risks and caveats

Several cautions apply. The first is scale. About 137m USDT in a week is a meaningful figure for a single exchange contract, but equity derivatives on crypto platforms remain a niche compared with the conventional markets where Tesla shares and options trade. A doubling from a modest base can look dramatic without signalling a big change in how most investors gain exposure to the company.

The second is leverage. MEXC said its TSLA contract offers leverage, and leveraged positions magnify losses as well as gains. Earnings periods are especially volatile. A sharp move after results can trigger rapid liquidations, particularly in contracts that trade when the underlying stock market is closed and prices are discovered with less liquidity.

The third is structure and oversight. Crypto-native stock derivatives sit outside the regulated securities exchanges and clearing houses that handle ordinary share trading. Users depend on the exchange's pricing mechanism, its risk controls and its own solvency. Investor protections that apply at regulated brokers may not apply, and availability depends on where a user lives.

Finally, timing alone does not show cause. MEXC tied the rise in volume to the Roadster event and the earnings calendar, which is plausible, but other factors such as promotions, wider market moves or changes in user numbers could also have played a part. The exchange's data do not allow those effects to be separated.

What to watch next

The immediate question is whether the higher volume holds now that both companies have reported. Activity driven by a specific event often fades once the news is out, and the next weekly figures will show whether the jump marked a lasting shift or a short-lived spike.

Other points worth watching include:

• Whether MEXC publishes comparable data for SPCX Stock Futures, given SpaceX's strong results and after-hours gain.
• How Tesla and SpaceX shares behave after the earnings releases, and whether crypto-traded contracts track them closely.
• Whether rival exchanges expand their own equity-linked products around major earnings dates.
• Any regulatory response to crypto platforms offering leveraged exposure to listed shares.

For now, the numbers suggest that at least part of the crypto trading public is treating big-name corporate events as trading opportunities in much the same way as token launches or macro data releases. Whether that becomes a steady line of business for exchanges, or remains a sideshow that flares up around headline news, is likely to become clearer over the coming earnings seasons.