The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) approved Rothera Exchange and Clearing LLC’s request to list a Tesla earnings swap on Oct. 27, six days after Tesla reported quarterly results below the contract’s stated threshold.
The CFTC product registry identifies the approved instrument as a swap. Rothera’s filing set its condition as whether Tesla’s adjusted earnings per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2026, would exceed $0.65. The filing defines that measure as Tesla’s official non-GAAP diluted earnings per share. It describes cash settlement, with the winning position valued at $1.
Tesla released its results on Oct. 21 and reported non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.48. Rothera’s filing had set the final trading day as the scheduled results-release date. The contract’s trading and settlement status is unverified.
The CFTC approved the Tesla swap. It said its order also addresses KPI event contracts discussed in Rothera’s submission when structured to trade on a designated contract market. The order does not address products based on the same business measures but structured differently, and it does not rule out Securities and Exchange Commission authority. On Oct. 13, the SEC approved a Cboe proposal for standardized binary options tied to KPIs.
Rothera called the decision the CFTC’s first approval of a swap tied to a company performance measure. The agency’s archive also lists a 2024 Kalshi self-certification filing for a Tesla deliveries contract, which was a filing rather than an approval.
Rothera identified businesses and individuals exposed to company performance as potential users, either to hedge that exposure or to speculate. Its filing says participants would pay fees but gives no amount. The company says it plans to add contracts tied to financial disclosures and measures of business activity and production, with a gradual rollout in fall 2026. It has not provided a specific launch date.
