Cathie Wood's ARK buys 450,000 Tesla shares in 45 days

ARK Invest bought an estimated 450,000 Tesla shares worth $170 million to $180 million between June 21 and Aug. 5, 2026, doubling down on the worst-performing Magnificent Seven stock of the year.

The buying trail, reconstructed from separately dated reports by GuruFocus, Blockonomi and Motley Fool rather than a single ARK or SEC disclosure, shows the fund added to Tesla on at least six trading days. Wood maintains a 2029 price target of $2,600 per share, implying upside of more than 700 percent from recent levels, with her rationale centered on Tesla's autonomous vehicle ambitions, robotaxis and full self-driving technology.

Tesla closed at $342.27 on Aug. 14, down 23.89 percent from $449.72 at the end of 2025, the only Magnificent Seven name down more than 20 percent on the year. The stock fell 18 percent after Tesla's Q2 2026 report, when revenue rose 25.5 percent year over year to $28.24 billion but non-GAAP EPS of $0.33 missed the $0.54 estimate and operating margin compressed to 1.4 percent.

ARK's combined Tesla holdings across its ETF family stood at $870.6 million as of the Aug. 5 purchase, split across four funds led by the $545.4 million ARK Innovation position. Wall Street's consensus target sits at $395.34, with ratings split across 6 Strong Buy, 17 Buy, 18 Hold, 4 Sell and 2 Strong Sell, leaving Wood's conviction the outlier.

The Reported Buying Trail

Days after ARK trimmed Tesla to fund its SpaceX position, GuruFocus reported the fund bought 54,815 shares on June 21, followed by 21,226 shares on June 24 for approximately $8.1 million. On July 2, ARK added 96,935 shares for approximately $38.1 million, reported as the largest single-day Tesla buy of 2026 to that point.

Blockonomi reported that immediately after the Q2 selloff, ARK bought 160,151 shares on July 23 for roughly $50 million to $60 million. Ark Invest Tracker via crypto.news then reported 40,281 shares on July 28 for approximately $12.4 million, and Motley Fool reported an estimated 45,000 shares on Aug. 5 for approximately $14.3 million, with the exact share count backed into from the dollar amount and that day's price.

What the Filings Can and Cannot Confirm

ARK Investment Management's 13F, filed Aug. 14 and covering the quarter ended June 30, reported 2,759,800 Tesla shares valued at $1,160,772,073, representing 0.0699 percent of the class, with a net reduction of 71,529 shares over the second quarter. The Motley Fool figure covers four ETFs as of Aug. 5, while the 13F covers the entire manager as of June 30.

A 13F is a quarter-end snapshot with no trade dates and no individual buys or sells. The Q2 net reduction is consistent with the reported timeline, because ARK sold Tesla earlier in the quarter to fund SpaceX before resuming purchases in late June. The July and August buys fall in the third quarter, which will not be disclosed until roughly mid-November, and only as a single net figure.

Wood's Stated Thesis

Wood's 2029 target of $2,600 per share implies upside of more than 700 percent from recent levels, with her rationale centered on Tesla's autonomous vehicle ambitions, robotaxis and full self-driving technology, which she has said represent most of Tesla's upside. ARK has bought into most Tesla declines during 2026 rather than reducing exposure.

Per TheStreet, during July 24 to 28, ARK also bought Circle Internet Group, WeRide, Kodiak AI and Pony AI while trimming Figma, 10x Genomics and Caterpillar. Whether Wood's conviction pays off or compounds losses in the weakest Magnificent Seven name of 2026 remains an open question.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.