At a glance
TESL charges 0.97% a year. It has $18.7M in assets. Over the past year it returned −55.4% with distributions reinvested (S&P 500: +11.5%).
The short version
Simplify Volt TSLA Revolution ETF (TESL) is an actively managed fund centered on one stock, Tesla, held through shares, Tesla-linked ETFs, swaps and options. Unlike owning Tesla outright, a momentum algorithm normally sets Tesla exposure at 80%, 100% or 150% of assets, adding leverage in uptrends. It may appeal to Tesla bulls, but it costs 0.97% a year, made no payouts, and lost 55% in the 12 months to October 27, 2026.
Price history
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TESL -55.4% over the year to Oct 27, 2026, total return with distributions reinvested.
How it has behaved
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | Since start | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TESL official prospectus, to Dec 31, 2024 | — | +149.20% | — | — | — | +17.65% |
| S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) index, same period | — | +15.16% | — | — | — | +13.62% |
| TESL price data to Oct 27, 2026 | -26.4% | -55.4% | — | — | — | -25.2% |
- Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, TESL returned -55.4%.
- The deepest fall in its price history was 63.1% (Oct 1, 2025 to Jul 29, 2026), not yet recovered.
Show as a table
| Year | Price data | Prospectus (official) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -26.4% | — |
| 2025 | -19.8% | — |
| 2024 | — | +149.20% |
| 2023 | — | +60.05% |
| 2022 | — | -61.15% |
| 2021 | — | +18.42% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Before this security existed |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Before this security existed |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Not in the price data, which starts Jan 2, 2025 |
Dividends and income
Show as a table
| Year | Per share | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $1.3000 |
What's inside
As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 5 securities; the ten largest made up 68.8% of assets, and 28.07% sat in cash and money-market holdings.
| Holding | Weight | |
|---|---|---|
| TESLA INC | 23.89% | |
| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - BUREAU OF THE PUBLIC DEBT Bonds and notes | 14.92% | |
| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - BUREAU OF THE PUBLIC DEBT Bonds and notes | 14.35% | |
| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - BUREAU OF THE PUBLIC DEBT Bonds and notes | 11.37% | |
| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - BUREAU OF THE PUBLIC DEBT Bonds and notes | 4.26% |
By country
United States 68.8%By issuer
US Treasury 44.91%Companies 23.89%The bonds mature in 0.2 years on average (weighted by size), with an average coupon of 0%.
Source: N-PORT holdings report as of Jun 30, 2026. Cash, money-market funds and derivatives are shown separately from the securities list.What changed recently
- Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors withdrew a net $6.5M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
- Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +2.08%, +33.28%, -8.78%.
How it works
TESL does not track an index. Simplify handles trading and derivatives, and a sub-adviser designs the Tesla strategy. The fund normally holds Tesla-related instruments equal to at least 80% of net assets: Tesla shares, single-stock ETFs linked to Tesla, Tesla swaps (contracts that pay the fund Tesla's return) and call options. The leverage built into the ETFs, swaps and options counts toward the 80%, so the fund can invest less cash. As of June 30, 2026, Tesla shares were about 24% of net assets. The fund also held a Tesla swap with Bank of America, and roughly 45% sat in short-term Treasury bills and 28% in cash.
Each day, the sub-adviser's algorithm measures momentum, which is the tendency of a price trend to keep going. It uses moving averages and related trend tools (MACD and Heiken Ashi charts), the Relative Strength Index (which flags overbought or oversold prices), and news and social-media sentiment. It then picks a posture: aggressive (150% Tesla exposure), bullish (100%) or neutral (80%). Simplify fills that target with whichever instruments cost least.
TESL is not a daily-reset leveraged ETF, but at 150% exposure its gains and losses are magnified. Up to 20% of assets can go into a separate options strategy. On June 30, 2026, that included Nvidia calls and S&P 500 index options. The fund trades heavily: the prospectus filed October 28, 2025 reported 872% portfolio turnover.
What it really costs
- TESL charges 0.97% a year.
- Of that, 0.95% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
- Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $99 in the first year and $1,190 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).
| Cost of $10,000 (SEC example) | 1 yr | 3 yrs | 5 yrs | 10 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TESL | $99 | $309 | $536 | $1,190 |
In a retirement portfolio
Its stated goal is long-term growth and it does not reset leverage daily, but a single-stock strategy that can reach 150% exposure is too concentrated to anchor a portfolio.
TESL could add amplified Tesla exposure, with extreme swings. It launched December 28, 2020, so it has no record from the 2008 or 2020 crashes. In 2022, a bear-market year, it lost 61.15%, its worst calendar year. It then gained 149.2% in 2024. Its deepest drop since January 2025 was 63.1%, from October 1, 2025 to July 29, 2026, and it had not recovered as of October 27, 2026. Anyone who needed to sell during a slump like that would lock in steep losses. It made no distributions in the 12 months to October 27, 2026. It costs 0.97% a year, or $99 in the first year on $10,000 under the SEC's standard example. Past results don't predict future ones, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.
Who it may suit — and who should look elsewhere
May suit
- Tesla bulls who want exposure that rises to as much as 150% in uptrends and can accept steep losses, such as 2022's 61.15% drop.
- Investors keeping it to a small satellite slice who could hold through a 63.1% fall, like October 2025 to July 2026, without selling.
- Those who would rather have a manager shift Tesla exposure using swaps, single-stock ETFs and options than trade those instruments themselves.
Look elsewhere if
- Retirees who need income: TESL made no distributions in the 12 months to October 27, 2026, and its goal is capital growth.
- Anyone seeking diversification: the strategy centers on one company, and its one-year price swings (volatility) measured 64.2% as of October 27, 2026.
- Cost-focused savers: the 0.97% expense ratio adds up to $1,190 over 10 years on $10,000 in the SEC's standard example, before trading costs.
Close alternatives
Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.
No close alternatives found.
Questions investors ask
Is TESL a leveraged ETF?
Partly. TESL is not a daily-reset leveraged ETF, but it can use leverage. Its sub-adviser's momentum algorithm sets Tesla exposure at 80%, 100% or 150% of net assets. It gets above 100% through Tesla-linked single-stock ETFs, swaps and call options. At 150%, gains and losses are magnified. Because the exposure level changes with the algorithm's signals, the fund's returns won't track a fixed multiple of Tesla's returns.
Does TESL pay dividends?
No. TESL made no distributions in the 12 months to October 27, 2026, so its yield over that period was 0%. Its stated objective is long-term capital appreciation, not income. That matters for retirees. Anyone relying on the fund for spending money would have to sell shares. After a fall like its 63.1% drop from October 1, 2025 to July 29, 2026, that could mean selling at a steep loss.
How has TESL performed compared with the S&P 500?
TESL beat the S&P 500 over its first four years, but its returns swung far more. According to its prospectus, TESL returned an average of 17.65% a year from its December 28, 2020 launch through December 31, 2024. The S&P 500 Index returned 13.62% a year over the same period. Along the way, TESL lost 61.15% in 2022 and gained 149.2% in 2024. It then lost 19.84% in 2025 and 26.38% in 2026 through October 27.
What is TESL's expense ratio?
TESL's expense ratio is 0.97% a year, according to its prospectus filed October 28, 2025. Almost all of that is a 0.95% management fee. In the SEC's standard example, $10,000 invested with a 5% yearly return would cost about $99 after one year, $309 after three, $536 after five and $1,190 after 10. Trading costs come on top of that. Portfolio turnover was 872%, a sign of very heavy trading.
What does TESL actually hold?
Tesla, plus large amounts of Treasury bills and cash. As of June 30, 2026, Tesla shares were about 24% of the fund's $18.7 million in net assets, and it also held a Tesla swap with Bank of America. Short-term Treasury bills made up roughly 45% and cash 28%. The fund also held non-Tesla options, such as Nvidia calls and S&P 500 index options. These belong to a supplemental options strategy capped at 20% of assets.