In the third episode of the techAU.Tesla podcast, I focus on my recent purchase of Tesla Stock.
Before we get much further let me tell you the following is not investment advice, do your own research, this is just my story and my opinion of the company.
After reporting on the company for more than a decade, after reviewing the Model S back in 2016, the Model X back in 2018 and then going on to buy (and review) the Model 3 in 2019, I finally decided to invest in Tesla shares.
Why did I invest?
Since going public the price of Tesla stock remained flat for many years. That was until the more affordable Model 3 production started ramp. As the number of units dramatically increased year on year, Tesla has been able to start realising profits.
As the Model Y soon followed, sharing many of the same parts and appealing to an even larger market segment, the company again scaled production.
One of the most important factors was the Gigafactory built in Shanghai, China on a really aggressive timeline. From breaking ground, to producing Model 3s in around 15 months. The factory almost doubled in size and has now added capacity to build and delivery Model Ys, along with the recent news RHD cars were also coming off the line for other markets (like Australia).
Armed with this experience of building factories and improving each time, Tesla are constructing Gigafactory Berlin and Gigafactory Texas simulatenously, both due to start producing vehicles this year.
New from these factories will be the Cybertruck, which seen more than 600,000 reservations, along with the Tesla Semi. This is the first move into commercial transport for Tesla and has amazing potential to disrupt a whole new industry and capture significant market share.
Of course this is without even considering the potential revenue to be realised from FSD purchased by owners (now priced at A$10,100). Once Tesla enables the robotaxi fleet, they’ll unlock the potential to take 20-30% from ride sharing, given there’ll be an extra seat available and no driver to pay.
If Tesla can make vehicles fast enough to keep some for themselves, the’ll then have an up-front capital cost of making the vehicles, but then have a vehicle at the wholesale cost, and can then take 100% of the revenue from ride sharing.
This doesn’t even touch on the energy side of the business, which includes Powerwall, Powerpack, Autobidder software, Tesla Solar, Chargers and more.
We’re 8 days out from the next Tesla earnings call, where Elon Musk will reveal how much profit they made from 2020. After recently reporting record vehicle sales (500,000 in 2020), it’s difficult to see how there isn’t corresponding profits on the way.
How did I invest?
I go into detail in the video below as to why the quantity of shares I purchased was 4.94, the the way I purchased them is probably more interesting.
A few months ago, I received a press released from a US stock trading service, Stake, who promoted that tens of thousands of Australians were using their platform, many of which were buying Tesla.
After some comparisons to other alternatives like legacy banks, or Robinhood, another stock trading platform that offers fractional shares, I settled on Stake.
Transferring the funds took a couple of days and as it showed in my account at 1.30am this morning, the AUD to USD conversation had occurred., so you end up with the equivalent, minus a few fees and the exchange rate.
At 1.30am AEDT, it was 9.30am in New York, the time the New York Stock Exchange opened for trading. I was then able to place my order for shares and a couple of minutes I received email notification the shares had been acquired and then appeared in the Stake mobile app (search HelloStake).
I paid USD $837.74 per share, which is a big number, but I’m betting on the fact that the 17,000%+ gain since going public, isn’t done yet.
Conflict of interest
Now that I own shares in an electric car company and frequently cover electric vehicles, I can assure you the coverage won’t change. When Tesla makes a mistake, I’ll call it out, when others do well, I’ll celebrate it. I do however think its important to disclosure this and as such, have now added to author bio on every post of techAU.com.au and added it to my Twitter bio.
Referrals
If you’re buying a Tesla, then you can get 1,500km of free Supercharging credits by using my referral link – https://ts.la/jason45054
If you’re keen to try buying stocks through Stake, please use this referral link and we can both get a free stock – https://hellostake.com/referral-progr…
