[RCB268]

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2012/10/24/now-is-the-time-to-buy-tesla-motors.aspx

I thought this statement by The Fool was right-on!

"Management is a key for any company and Tesla has a CEO and major shareholder in Elon Musk who in my opinion will one day be viewed as a legendary CEO."

 

[Noel Park]

Not by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin, LOL. Go for it if you must. I'll keep my few $$$ under the mattress before I buy into Tesla. I hope you make millions, but it's definitely not for me.

 

[DCFusor]

As a trader, I'm watching them to be sure - Elon is one of extremely few people I actually admire. But I'm watching to see how long and how well they can ramp production. Hell, I'd own one if it didn't involve putting down a ton o cash and a heckuva long wait. Till they fix that, it's a roll of the dice, IMO.
If you didn't know who this was, would you buy the stock based on these numbers?

The way you make money is being "right" when everyone else is "wrong" but for that to work, they then have to realize you were "right" or they don't buy in too and make the stock go up. There's no hint of behavior right now that would indicate that can happen soon - later, sure, we'll have to see. I quote the words "right" and "wrong" because IMO, we're not really in a truth-driven market just now. So those words are kind of not the best choice (but I'd have to go NSFW with more accurate wording).

 

[bonaire]

Tesla can get stomped by Mercedes or BMW if they put their mind to it. Those brands are known by "the herd". And trusted. If BMW had a lower satisfaction rating than Tesla - but both sold equal cars, people would buy BMW. Just as they buy Prius over Volt now because of brand loyalty. People with money tend to trust who they know and their BMW/Mercedes dealership is on speed dial for them.

The thing with Tesla is they are selling into a boutique market with a new product that could be trumped by any of the big players should they want to one day. If EVs were profitable and parts were mass-scale, Tesla will become an Edsel or one of dozens of similar fated USA-based small automakers of the mid 20th century.

 

[DCFusor]

I *want* RCB to be right on this call, just don't think the time is now, and maybe yes - if Beemer or Merc came out with something, they'd do well and not have the production ramp problems. Interestingly, BMW now owns some of the original Volt engineers, while Merc went with some tech from Tesla - so Tesla would have bragging rights on that one if it were to happen.

It all seems to be about "stupid human tricks" in the markets right now.
Apple makes money, and goes down (they made less than some hoped).
Amazon's razor thin margins and sales went down, stock up.
Go figure. I just trust the ticker and watch the stupid human emotion tricks.

 

[Zythryn]

Tesla stock is definitely a high risk stock right now.
That being said, they are very well positioned right now. And we should know within the next three months if the can ramp up production or not. If they can, I see a heck of a lot of upside.
They are trying to break into a business which is notoriously difficult to do so. Taking on the auto giants, the dealer network, and the oil business. But they have also started delivering a car that in my mind, has no comparison out there. I believe in two years they will be outselling the BMW M5, Mercedes S class and Audi A7(?).
I also strongly believe in the culture of the company and they have a good record treating this customer of theirs well.

Big risk, but big reward

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

The problem for ICEV manufacturers is that they could be cutting their own throat if they're successful with PEVs. Luxury is a lot easier when the drivetrain is naturally quiet and low vibration..

 

[RCB268]

Okay, guys, you've convinced me! I'm not buying any Tesla stock <g>. But, I still maintain that Elon is pretty sharp; eventually he will succeed, tho even he said that starting a new car company, on second thought, might not have been the greatest or best use of capital.

 

[ckk]

I wonder about buying some shares in Coulomb (Chargepoint)

 

[Zythryn]

I wonder about buying some shares in Coulomb (Chargepoint)

I'd buy Tesla stock before Coulomb (actually, I did).
As EVs increase their range, and people get used to the concept of REEVs, chargers will reach a limit of need. Are, they will continue to grow, but I think it will be short lived, then plateau and decline.
On the other hand, Tesla is an innovator. They have already done their proof of concept (roadster) and are starting up deliveries of there second model. They are no longer reliant on government loans and will be profitable in 2013. Starting to repay the loan early as well.
Both are speculative, but if I were going to go for a risky investment, I think Tesla has a heck of a lot of upside compared to Coulomb.

 

[Koz]

Coulomb is competing with GE, Sneider, and other "big boys". It is a hard path to success for them. For a high risk, high growth market I definitely agree with Zythryn that Tesla is more appealing. BMW, et al, cannot just jump in on a whim. It takes time and a lot of $ for them to develop a new platform and drivetrain. Tesla plans to have the Model X too by the beginning of 2014. If you want to trade Tesla then today may not be the best time but if you want to invest, then I think the time is as good as it gets. Once production is ramped and the financials look better, it will be too late to get in anywhere near today's cost. Of course the risk is high with any startup, and especially an automobile manufacturer.

 

[bro1999]

If you had invested $10,000 in Tesla on 10/26/2012, your investment would now be worth over $54,000. *Sighs*

 

[Joule]

At this juncture it's too late to "get in early". Better to sit and wait for a short-term dip after some bad-press event (defect, recall, etc.) and jump on then.

 

[bro1999]

At this juncture it's too late to "get in early". Better to sit and wait for a short-term dip after some bad-press event (defect, recall, etc.) and jump on then.

See, that's what I did when Tesla jumped after releasing their Q1 (Q2?) financials. I think the stock went from $50 to $72 overnight. I was like "man, now I just need to wait till the profit takers sell out and the stock settles back down"....but it's just kept on going up ever since! And when I finally bought it last week, it of course has been trending downward ever since. *facepalm*

 

[Zythryn]

See, that's what I did when Tesla jumped after releasing their Q1 (Q2?) financials. I think the stock went from $50 to $72 overnight. I was like "man, now I just need to wait till the profit takers sell out and the stock settles back down"....but it's just kept on going up ever since! And when I finally bought it last week, it of course has been trending downward ever since. *facepalm*

Please buy some more, I need it to go down further before I can buy more;-)

Seriously, it is a wild ride and is very difficult to predict what it will do next. I just wish I had bought more back around $20. Of course, I also wish I had bought the winning lottery ticket!

 

[vdiv]

Bought 8 shares of TSLA when it was $29. At $50 they seemed expensive and I did not buy more. At $80 they seemed expensive and I did not buy more. At $120 they seemed expensive and I did not buy more. Now at close to $150 they seem expensive and realistically I am not going to buy more.

So the title of the topic is correct. Now has been a good time for quite a while to buy TSLA.

Not to change the topic too much, but when would be a good time to buy GM stock? If GM announced in a year or so a 200-mile range all electric Volt for say $50k would that be the time? If GM announced an aggressive EVSE promotion and installation program would that be the time? If GM announced that every model produced will have a plugin version would that be the time?