Tesla Stock Is Up. Here’s How the Shares Trade in December.

December is a solid month for shares of Tesla. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Key Points

• Tesla stock has risen 7% this year and 20% over the past 12 months.
• Tesla shares have historically risen in 60% of Decembers, gaining nine times and falling six times since its 2010 IPO.
• The stock experienced its worst December in 2022, declining 37%, amidst investor concerns over Elon Musk’s acquisition of X.

Tesla stock fell Tuesday as investors hope for an electric Santa Claus rally.

Shares of the electric-vehicle maker traded as high as $436.80, but closed at $429.24, down 0.2%, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively.

Coming into Tuesday, Tesla stock has risen 7% this year and 20% over the past 12 months. Investors might like a bit more cushion, but shares were on pace for their third consecutive annual gain. Tesla stock declined 65% in 2022, then bounced back, gaining 102% in 2023 and 63% in 2024.

Tesla has declined in two years since the company’s initial public offering in 2010, in 2016, and in 2022.

December is a solid month for the stock. Shares have risen 60% of the time, gaining nine times and falling six times. Tesla has risen in 54% of the months since going public in 2010.

Santa Claus might be helping a little. Stocks tend to rise late in December around the holidays—that’s the Santa Claus rally. Exactly why it happens is hard to say. It could be psychological or related to portfolio prep for tax time. Whatever the reason, a rally will help Tesla shares turn in another positive year.

December, however, is about as volatile as any other month. Tesla shares have moved an average of about 14%, up or down, which is close to the 13% average for all months.

The worst December for Tesla stock was 2022, when Tesla shares fell 37%. That capped off a difficult period for Tesla investors who worried that CEO Elon Musk buying Twitter, now X, would distract him from running his car company.

Musk closed on his purchase of X in October 2022.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com