Coatue Cuts Tesla Position By 96%, Trims Nvidia While Buying Lucid And Hertz

by | May 18, 2026 | General

Hedge fund giant Coatue Management, run by billionaire investor Philippe Laffont, dramatically reduced its exposure to Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) during the first quarter, trimming the position by roughly 96% according to its latest 13F filing.

Tesla Position Nearly Eliminated

According to the filing, the fund cut its Tesla stake from more than 1.64 million shares at the end of 2025 to fewer than 59,000 shares by March 31.

The sharp reduction came as Coatue broadly scaled back exposure to several high-profile AI and momentum trades, including Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN). Coatue cut Microsoft holdings by more than half and trimmed Nvidia exposure by 31%.

Still, what made the Tesla move particularly interesting was where some of that capital appeared to go next.

Lucid And Hertz Stakes Opened

While dumping Tesla shares, Coatue simultaneously opened new positions in rival EV maker Lucid Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCID) and car rental company Hertz Global Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ:HTZ).

The filing suggested Coatue may be shifting away from crowded mega-cap trades toward distressed or recovery-focused bets that could benefit if investor appetite broadens beyond AI leaders.

That theme appeared elsewhere in the portfolio too.

Meme And Recovery Stocks Gain Attention

Coatue also initiated positions in heavily beaten-down names including Peloton Interactive, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTON), AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AMC), Beyond Meat, Inc. (NASDAQ:BYND) and Plug Power, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG).

At the same time, the hedge fund selectively maintained exposure to certain semiconductor and infrastructure plays, opening fresh positions in ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML), Qualcomm Inc (NASDAQ:QCOM) and Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX).

But the Tesla cut remained the defining move.

For a hedge fund long associated with aggressive growth investing, reducing one of Wall Street’s highest-profile momentum stocks by 96% may signal that some institutional investors are becoming increasingly cautious about crowded AI-era trades.

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