Long Elon, short Jensen: A research firm says retail traders are flocking back to Tesla and pivoting from Nvidia

• Retail traders are buying the year to date dip in Tesla stock, Vanda Research said.
• The cohort, meanwhile, has slowed its buying of Nvidia stock.
• Vanda said tax-day selling pressure could be to blame for the pivot from Nvidia.

Retail traders are flocking back to an old favorite.

According to data from Vanda Research, which tracks retail investor flows into stocks and ETFs, Tesla is seeing a renewed buying spree among retail investors following a tough start to this year.

Tesla stock is down 15% in 2026, and retail traders seem to be seizing on the opportunity to buy it on the dip. At the same time, Vanda said that individual investors are rotating away from Nvidia.

"NVDA is seeing sustained retail outflows after an extended period of buying," the report stated. "In contrast, NVDA has seen multiple successive sessions of net selling, a reversal from the record buying we saw in and around prior earnings. The last time the 5-day net buying was this weak (-$294mn) was last May."

Vanda added that this pattern recalls a similar scenario that played out last year, when retail traders pulled out of Nvidia after the market rally following Donald Trump's Liberation Day tariff announcements. However, they quickly returned and resumed heavy buying, helping spark new momentum for the stock.

Vanda also said last month that retail investors had become net sellers of stocks for the first time in three years amid the volatility created by the Iran war, though they've since resumed buying.

"TSLA has seen $216mn of net buying over the past 5 days, making it the most actively bought retail name again. This comes as 1M rolling retail flows have moved to their highest since late Oct last year — with retail persistently buying the dip," Vanda noted.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is a popular figure among retail traders. While Wall Street analysts have raised concerns about Musk's various ventures, Vanda's data suggests that everyday traders are still upbeat.

According to Vanda, their pivot from Nvidia might not be an explicitly bearish position, and the same selling pattern has been seen in previous tax seasons as investors take profits to help cover their IRS bills.

The research firm noted that tax day selling pressure is likely to pass soon. It said the data reflect a positive shift in investor sentiment, likely to help the market recover.

"Under the hood, retail engagement remains strong, with TSLA, PLTR, MSFT and AAPL dominating the most actively traded names," the report stated. "If retail flows do inflect higher post-tax day, this big tech cohort is likely to lead. But we would expect buying to broaden out across the usual retail favorites."