A naked put is when you sell a put option without having cash or margin to cover the assignment. It's essentially the same as a short put or cash-secured put but without the safety.
Tesla at $200:
Maximum Profit: Premium collected
Maximum Loss: Strike × 100 - premium (up to $18,700 in the example)
A cash-secured put requires you to have the cash set aside. You have $19,000 available, so you can handle assignment.
A naked put means you sell it without being prepared. This is dangerous because you might be forced to buy stock you can't afford.
Modern brokers require margin/buying power for any put you sell. So technically, you can't sell a truly "naked" put. But some traders treat their cash-secured puts recklessly and don't reserve the capital.
Only sell puts with cash or buying power set aside. Never assume the stock won't fall below your strike.
Related: Short Put, Cash-Secured Put, Naked Call
