Tokenized Tesla surges as Elon Musk unveils SpaceX-powered flying Roadster prototype

Traders rushed into Tesla-linked crypto markets overnight after Elon Musk unveiled a flying version of the Roadster, with trading on Hyperliquid jumping while U.S. stock markets were closed.

The surge shows how crypto exchanges that never close are becoming the first place investors react to news about traditional companies.

Musk demonstrated the prototype, which uses SpaceX thruster technology, on Oct. 15, after Tesla TSLA shares closed at $362.44. Hyperliquid’s TSLA perpetual contract rose about 4.9% to roughly $378, and hourly trading volume leapt about 1,580%, from $2.8 million to $47 million.

It is already the contract’s second-busiest day since listing a year ago, with the daily candle only nine hours old. Binance remained the largest venue, with $279 million in 24-hour volume versus Hyperliquid’s $159 million, according to RootData, but Hyperliquid held the most open interest, at $99 million. Tesla shares were up about 4.5% in premarket trading.

Hyperliquid’s contract, listed through Trade.xyz, is a perpetual future that tracks Tesla’s stock price rather than a tokenized share. It settles in USDC, allows up to 20x leverage and requires no brokerage account. The contract trades around the clock, so it was one of the few ways to bet on Tesla’s price while Nasdaq was closed. Tesla is due to report third-quarter earnings on Oct. 21.

1. 1Altcoins outpace bitcoin as celestia jumps 16%, Warsh silent on interest-rate plans9 minutes ago
2. 2Scammer gets scammed in Ledger spy-chip exploit, loses almost $5 million in bitcoin26 minutes ago
3. 3Live updates: Bitcoin back above $82,000, ZEC jumps 11% as ETF outflows continue1 hour ago
4. 4U.S. judge rejects Gemini’s appeal to void $5 million settlement despite CFTC backing1 hour ago
5. 5MSCI approves rules that could eject Strategy, Metaplanet from equity indexes2 hours ago
6. 6XRP has failed to make holders rich like bitcoin and ether. Here’s why4 hours ago
7. 7An OpenAI agent ran out of Ethereum funds, and took from a wallet it did not own6 hours ago
8. 8Bitcoin buyers snap up a brief drop below $80,000 as Asian stocks rebound6 hours ago
9. 9At the White House, crypto policy vacancy looms large16 hours ago
10. 10Crypto for Advisors: Wall Street is done waiting on Congress for crypto rules19 hours ago

Why it matters:

Diversified RWA stablecoins sustain 5-7% yield from real credit as crypto funding compresses to ~4%. GENIUS pushes yield off-chain; TAM grows to $4B in 3 years.