Tesla: A Supercharged Success ?

In May of 2019 Tesla traded under $200/share ($40 post/split), sentiment was at an all time low, short selling at an all time high and bankruptcy a real threat. But the narrative did not paint the real picture. It had gotten lost somewhere along the road.

Media had been hammering and covering Tesla endlessly on a daily basis, one day it was Elon and the SEC the other it was Model 3 production or risk of bankruptcy. Never had an “automotive manufacturer” received this much attention. But the constant scrutiny didn’t hinder its progress. Tesla had continuously been developing and extending on their competitive advantages.

As Daimler, BMW, Volkswagen, GM and Ford has spent and continues to spend billions on marketing every year. Tesla had ridden the medias cocktail receiving free marketing, boosting social media interactions, popularity and brand value. The intangibles were now speaking for themselves. Tesla had become too big to fail.

Just as we now use the word UBER to describe THE Taxi, TESLA had become THE Electric Vehicle, and at some point the narrative shifted. Then Tesla posted consecutive profitable quarters. Although short sellers were forced to cover and the stock spiked it didn’t cause the parabolic movement. More so the momentum. But for anyone that has experienced momentum they’ll now that it’s a powerful thing.

Mainstream who’d been unintentionally following along were caught up. Maybe the stubborn bears were wrong ? The media + shorts attempt to discourage investors had backfired and suddenly everyone was jumping onboard the train. Like it’s a trend to drink coffee it became a trend among millennials to buy Tesla shares. And with the help of fractional shares they could do so… Thanks Robinhood !

So the real reason behind Tesla’s share price going parabolic wasn’t so much to do with the fundamentals or all the terrific things the company has managed to accomplish in its short lifespan. Instead it was a combination of many unexpected things. For example, you could make the statement that Tesla’s share price wouldn’t even be close to where it is today without social media and that shows you the extent of investing today. Sure maybe Tesla would’ve gotten here “naturally” in a couple of years but to catapult 15x in a years time was beyond even the most bullish thesis out there.

Whats left now is just to wait and see how the fundamentals catches up to this 15x bagger, but no matter what you think about Tesla you can no longer ignore the facts ! They’re the leader in automotive, battery, and self-driving technology, demand is great, innovation is great, they’re profitable, cash sufficient, factories are up and running and the competition… Well there isn’t any.

So the only questions that leaves us with are. By how many years did the internet and hardheaded bears supercharge Teslas pace of growth/innovation ? And by how many years did that reduce the imminent climate threat ?