120 contracts of Dec 18, 2026 $990 calls - the most profitable option on a surprise stock swap announcement.
**The Setup:**
The new Congress gets seated on January 3, 2027. If the House flips, multiple committees (Judiciary, Armed Services, Intelligence, and Science) can be expected to launch aggressive oversight and investigations into the deal. This typically involves public hearings where executives are forced to testify repeatedly, and broad document subpoenas across multiple committees. This can add significant delays and uncertainty to the transaction.
Even with fast-tracking under the current administration, a deal of this size typically needs 5–6 months from announcement to close (regulatory approval + special shareholder meeting), so Elon has a strong incentive to get this announced by mid-September at the latest, so it can close before a possible flip in Congress.
**The Payoff:**
Selling on the announcement into IV spike at extrinsic value. Will exit no later than October to avoid accelerating theta decay.
