Tesla leads 10 most-traded retail stocks in 2021 according to Nasdaq

• The Nasdaq Retail Trading Activity Tracker ranked the top 10 stocks among day traders in 2021.
• Tesla leads the group, thanks in part to retail traders' love of Elon Musk and EV makers.
• Popular exchange-traded funds like Invesco's QQQ also made the list.

Retail traders made their mark on Wall Street in 2021, and final results are now in.

It started in January, when millions banded together on social media sites like Reddit to drive massive gains in meme stocks like GameStop and AMC. It spread elsewhere in the market throughout the year.

The Nasdaq Retail Trading Activity Tracker found the top 10 stocks among day traders from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021, based on the percent of total retail activity. Here they are:

10. Moderna

Share of total retail trading activity: 1.1%
12-month stock performance: 89%

Retail traders poured into Moderna stock since the company's two-dose COVID-19 vaccination was approved in the US in late 2020.

9. ProShares UltraPro QQQ ETF

Share of total retail trading activity: 1.2%
12-month stock performance: 76%

This exchange-traded fund is one of the largest that tracks the Nasdaq index.

8. NIO

Share of total retail trading activity: 1.6%
12-month stock performance: -41%

Retail traders love electric-vehicle makers. This Chinese EV company has been dubbed "China's answer to Tesla."

7. Invesco QQQ ETF

Share of total retail trading activity: 1.7%
12-month stock performance: 25%

This popular fund is the official ETF of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and has helped young investors get started with a new computer game that teaches them keys to financial success.

6. Nvidia

Share of total retail trading activity: 1.7%
12-month stock performance: 124%

Last year, retail traders on sites like Reddit hyped up Nvidia, the maker of graphics processing units (GPUs), for gaming.

5. SPDR S&P 500 ETF

Share of total retail trading activity: 1.9%
12-month stock performance: 25%

This ETF largely tracks the performance of the broader S&P 500 index.

4. Advanced Micro Devices

Share of total retail trading activity: 2.2%
12-month stock performance: 51%

Retail traders bought up this semiconductor maker's stock, thanks in part to major tech companies like Microsoft and Google purchasing its chips.

3. AMC

Share of total retail trading activity: 2.2%
12-month stock performance: 1,037%

AMC is perhaps one of the most well-known meme stocks. Its CEO Adam Aron has capitalized on retail-trader hype through social media, investor perks, and even NFT offerings.

2. Apple

Share of total retail trading activity: 3.9%
12-month stock performance: 36%

In the new year, Apple became the first US company to cross the $3 trillion market capitalization level. It has since fallen back below that threshold.

1. Tesla

Share of total retail trading activity: 4.5%
12-month stock performance: 42%

Retail traders love EV makers, and they love Tesla CEO Elon Musk. He has been an icon for the retail community, partially because of his Twitter account. He's also led his carmaker to become one of the most valuable publicly traded companies in the world.