South Korean Investors Pull $657M from Tesla as Crypto Gains Steam

Quick Highlights Tesla sees $657M outflow from South Korean investors in ￰0￱ proxy asset Bitmine Immersion draws $253M net ￰1￱ still leads with $21.9B in Korean retail ￰2￱ Sees Massive Outflows from South Korean Investors In August, South Korean retail investors sold a net $657 million worth of Tesla shares, the largest outflow from the company since at least early 2019, Bloomberg reported . Instead, capital is flowing into riskier assets, including Bitmine Immersion Technologies Inc., considered a proxy for ￰3￱ company received $253 million in net investments that month, the article says. Tesla’s Outflows Reflect Changing Investor Sentiment In the past four months, Tesla has seen $1.8 billion in outflows, signaling waning enthusiasm among one of the world’s most dedicated retail investor groups, the publication ￰4￱ the pandemic, South Korean traders actively bought shares of American technology giants, especially Tesla, driving up prices, according to media ￰5￱ investors now believe Tesla is no longer living up to expectations.

“Tesla has had many inspiring stories in the past, but it has failed to capture people’s ￰6￱ has failed to become a leader with a leading AI narrative,” said 33-year-old investor Han Jeong-soo, who bought shares in 2019 but sold them in early 2025 to invest in other ￰7￱ Remains Popular Despite Outflows Despite the massive outflow, Tesla remains the most popular foreign stock among Korean retail traders, with a combined $21.9 billion in holdings, the publication ￰8￱ comparison, Nvidia ￰9￱ Palantir Technologies ￰10￱ second and third with significantly smaller volumes. However, even the TSLL exchange-traded fund, which provides double leverage on Tesla shares, recorded its largest outflow since early 2024 in August – $554 million, the report ￰11￱ shift reflects a broader trend among South Korean investors moving capital from traditional ￰12￱ stocks to higher-risk, crypto-linked assets.