T1 Energy’s Wild June: A Leveraged ETF Arrives Just as a Major Shareholder Exits

T1 Energy faces whiplash: a new 2X leveraged ETF boosts retail interest, while largest shareholder Trina Solar dumps 22.5M shares amid SEC probes and patent lawsuits.

The small-cap solar space rarely sees this kind of whiplash. T1 Energy, the US-focused solar module and battery manufacturer born from the ashes of FREYR Battery, now finds itself at the centre of two powerful but opposing currents: a new leveraged exchange-traded fund that amplifies daily moves, and a massive sell-off by its largest external investor.

On 29 May 2026, REX Shares and Tuttle Capital Management launched the T-REX 2X Long TE Daily Target ETF (TEUP), giving retail traders a geared vehicle to bet on T1 Energy’s daily performance. The product’s arrival signals a surge in market attention around the stock, which has rallied from under €3.50 seven months ago to recent levels around €8.85 – a 24% gain in the past week alone and within striking distance of the 52-week high of €9.45. Annualised volatility sits above 140%, making the name a natural candidate for the leveraged-ETF crowd.

Yet just days earlier, Trina Solar (Switzerland) AG, the company’s biggest outside shareholder, sold 22.5 million shares across two trading sessions at prices between $7.74 and $9.43. After the disposal, Trina holds roughly 11% of the outstanding equity. The timing could hardly be more delicate: T1 Energy’s annual general meeting is scheduled for the coming days, and investors will be watching closely to see whether the exit reflects a loss of confidence or a portfolio rebalancing by the Chinese solar giant.

The stock’s recent recovery masks a tangle of legal and regulatory hurdles. Short-seller Fuzzy Panda published a report in mid-May alleging that T1 Energy aggressively booked $41.4 million in unearned Section 45X production tax credits, charges the company has firmly denied. Analyst Philip Shen of Roth Capital Partners has defended the firm, calling it “a model for what the Trump administration could expect from a domestic manufacturer.” Still, the overhang persists.

On top of that, First Solar filed a patent infringement lawsuit in late 2025 targeting T1 Energy’s TOPCon solar-cell technology. The US International Trade Commission is investigating 47 companies across 11 countries at First Solar’s request, which includes a push for a general import ban. T1 Energy is also responding to subpoenas from the Department of Justice and the SEC, issued in November 2025, related to stock sales in the second half of 2023. The company says the transactions involved pledged shares of a manager and were properly authorised.

Operationally, however, the turnaround appears to be gaining traction. First-quarter 2026 revenue hit $177.7 million, well above the consensus estimate of $110.6 million. Adjusted EBITDA came in at $9.1 million and net income from continuing operations reached $3.9 million, while gross margin improved to 17%. The company’s G1_Dallas gigafactory in Wilmer, Texas, is already producing PV modules, and the second facility in Rockdale (G2_Austin) is slated to begin volume production of high-efficiency TOPCon cells in the fourth quarter of 2026. Management has reaffirmed its 2026 production guidance of 3.1 to 4.2 gigawatts from the Dallas plant.

A recent $160 million sale of Section 45X tax credits to a financial institution has also bolstered the balance sheet, underscoring how heavily T1 Energy’s business model depends on US manufacturing incentives. The final Treasury rules on those credits, still pending, will determine the real cash-flow impact.

The juxtaposition of a new leveraged ETF and a major insider sell-off highlights the extreme uncertainty surrounding T1 Energy. The shares have swung from a 52-week low of €3.36 to a high of €9.45, and the near-term path hinges on the AGM vote, the resolution of the FEOC compliance questions tied to Trina’s previous board representation, and the outcome of the ITC investigation. For now, the stock remains a high-octane play on domestic solar manufacturing – with all the volatility that entails.