Ark ChiefCathie Wood Exits $16.2 Million of Tesla Shares

Cathie Wood, the chief executive of Ark Investment Management, is known for investing in disruptive technology companies.

Wood recently trimmed her high‑conviction stake in Tesla after the stock dropped about 6.3% over the past month and is down more than 9% year‑to‑date.

In 2025, the flagship Ark Innovation ETF rose 35.49%, far exceeding the S&P 500’s 17.88% gain for that year. Yet through the first nine months of 2026, Wood’s Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) is down 2.85%, while the S&P 500 has risen 8.56% this year, according to Yahoo Finance.

Wood earned fame when the Ark Innovation ETF surged 153% in 2020, but her strategy also produces sharp losses in downturns, as evidenced by a decline of more than 60% in 2022.

These volatility swings have eroded Wood’s long‑term returns. As of June 12, the Ark Innovation ETF has a five‑year annualized return of –8.06%, while the S&P 500 averages 11.84% annually, according to Morningstar.

Cathie Wood Anticipates Federal Reserve Rate Cut

Wood concentrates on high‑tech sectors such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, biomedical technology, and robotics, believing they offer strong growth prospects despite their inherent volatility, which can cause fund fluctuations.

Morningstar analyst Bella Albrecht noted that two of Wood’s Ark ETFs ranked among the poorest performers in the first quarter of 2026, with the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) coming in second and the ARK Innovation ETF fifth.

Between 2014 and 2024, the Ark Innovation ETF erased $7 billion in investor wealth, according to a March 2025 Morningstar analysis by Amy Arnott. It ranked as the third‑largest wealth destroyer among mutual funds and ETFs, a ranking that Arnott has not revised.

Wood said on the June 5 episode of “In the Know” that she is closely watching the June 17 decision by new Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh on interest rates.

“I believe Kevin Warsh understands that interest rates must fall, including mortgage rates. If inflation declines as productivity rises, even a strong economy, I expect he will cut rates,” Wood said.

Ark Chief Cathie Wood Exits $16.2 Million of Tesla Shares

On June 12, Wood’s ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) sold 39,850 shares of Tesla (TSLA), valued at roughly $16.2 million at the latest closing price of $406.43 per share.

Tesla shares rose 1.83% on June 12 after SpaceX began trading, with SpaceX’s stock jumping 19% on its debut, pushing Elon Musk’s net worth above $1 trillion and making him the world’s first trillionaire; Musk also remains Tesla’s CEO.

Top 10 Holdings of the Ark Innovation ETF as of June 12, 2026:

• Tesla Inc. (TSLA) 10.48%

• Tempus AI Inc. (TEM) 5.24%

• Robinhood Markets Inc. (HOOD) 5.02%

• Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) 4.95%

• CRISPR Therapeutics AG (CRSP) 4.92%

• Shopify Inc. (SHOP) 4.53%

• Roku Inc. (YEAR) 4.11%

• Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN) 3.80%

• Circle Internet Group Inc. (CRCL) 3.78%

• Twist Bioscience Corp. (TWST) 3.18%

Wood’s trading activity in the past week was focused on trimming positions. Other than selling Tesla, she also sold shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Rocket Lab (RKLB), Roku (ROKU), and Chinese tech firm Baidu (BIDU). Her main purchase was the newly listed Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX), or SpaceX.

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