Investor's Corner

Tesla is a game-changer for cars like Amazon was for retail, invest long

Published

7 years ago

October 31, 2017

Evannex

Billionaire investor Ron Baron raised eyebrows in the past when he predicted that Tesla [NASDAQ: TSLA] stock could hit $1,000 by 2020. However, following recent stock price declines amid concerns over Model 3 manufacturing bottlenecks and reports of supplier constraints, Baron’s Alex Umansky still maintains a positive outlook for the Silicon Valley-based electric car maker.

“In today’s market environment, everyone is trigger happy because we are bombarded with information,” says Umansky. The star fund manager thinks long-term, emphasizing a patient investing approach. “It becomes very difficult for investors to do nothing.” Umansky points to Amazon and Tesla as stocks that require patience and a buy-and-hold investing strategy.

Can slow-and-steady investing win the race? Despite the doubts that crop up around Tesla, Umansky and Baron remain big fans in the company and see Tesla as nothing less than a reincarnation of Amazon. “Tesla is in the early stages of being the game changer in cars that Amazon.com was in retail years ago.” notes Marketwatch. As the Oracle of Omaha, “Warren Buffett loves to say, doing nothing is often the best thing. Or as Umansky puts it: ‘You have to be patient because greatness takes time.’ It took years for Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos to prove his sacrifice of near-term profits to invest for long-term gains made sense. Or for him to develop the credibility he now has among investors. So Umansky’s time horizon on stocks is five years or more.”

Looking at Amazon, “They spend more in cloud computing research and development than their closest competitor has in revenue” in the space, says Umansky. He also sees Tesla’s hefty R&D investments reaping rewards over the long-term. “Tesla is much more than just a pioneer in electric cars. Tesla may ultimately be the leader in ‘clean, autonomous, shared mobility,’ predicts Umanksy. ‘They could have the largest network of self-driving cars, which can easily replicate what Uber does.’”

Baron Funds most recent investor letter also emphasizes the importance of investing in strong management. Umansky agrees: “Part of his conviction stems from meetings with Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Like Bezos, Musk has an enthusiasm for thinking big, investing for the long term and continually experimenting with ideas to find the ones that work.”

Others on Wall Street have also noted parallels between Tesla and Amazon. But, at the end of the day, Umansky admits to being “swayed by his own test driving of Tesla cars, something he encourages investors to do. ‘The product is so vastly superior,’ says Umanksy. Here, he takes a page from the book of another investor great, Peter Lynch, who as a fund manager at Fidelity urged investors to invest in companies that make products they know and like.”

===

Note: Article originally published on evannex.com, by Matt Pressman

Evannex

EVANNEX carries aftermarket accessories, parts, and gear for Tesla owners. Its blog is updated daily with Tesla news.

Comments

Investor's Corner

Tesla stock surges on Wednesday, but there’s still more room to go

Published

5 days ago

March 12, 2025

Joey Klender

Credit: Tesla

Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) surged over 7 percent on Wednesday, canceling out some of the losses it has felt this week.

It has been a less-than-ideal start for Tesla in 2025, as the company has wiped out all of its gains felt from the victorious election campaign of President Donald Trump. The stock is down 34 percent so far this year.

The losses have mostly been felt due to reports of decreased demand due to pushback against CEO Elon Musk and his support of President Trump, as well as investor concern over the CEO’s personal use of time between the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Tesla itself.

In a note this week from Wedbush, analyst Dan Ives wrote:

“Musk needs to step up as Tesla CEO at this critical juncture. In a nutshell, the word ‘balance’ has been missing with Elon Musk and his ability to run Tesla as CEO….while instead focusing all of his energy and time driving his DOGE initiative within the Trump Administration. Since Trump’s White House 2nd term kicked off in January, we have seen Musk and Trump connected at the hip with Musk essentially living at the White House and Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach. There has been little to no sign of Musk at any Tesla factory or manufacturing facility the last two months and perception has become reality for Tesla shares. Trump getting elected President was a huge moment for Musk and Tesla in our view as this will create the fast track for an autonomous federal roadmap…however the DOGE efforts have now intertwined Tesla into this brewing political firestorm.”

Wednesday’s slight bump for Tesla shares is likely related to the support the company received from President Trump yesterday, who purchased a Model S sedan at the White House and pledged to pay for it with a check.

President Donald Trump buys a Tesla at the White House – Here’s which model he chose

The move was one that signaled a buying spree from high-profile Republicans, including Sean Hannity, among others, who announced their support for Musk and Tesla:

As promised yesterday, I Just ordered my new self driving Tesla! Over 1000HP, 0-60 in 2.0 seconds!
Details on how to win the Tesla of your Choice soon on https://t.co/9hkyEX1UVi! pic.twitter.com/PSCCtUsXK2
— Sean Hannity 🇺🇸 (@seanhannity) March 11, 2025
Advertisement

Tesla shares closed at $248.09 on Wednesday, up 7.59%.

Investor's Corner

Tesla bull ARK loads up on over $20M in TSLA shares after stock slide

Published

7 days ago

March 11, 2025

Joey Klender

(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla bull ARK Invest loaded up on over $20 million worth of the automaker’s shares on Monday after the company saw its largest slide on the market since late 2020.

Shares dropped over 15 percent on Monday, mostly due to pushback on the stock as CEO Elon Musk heads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). His involvement with the U.S. government directly has sent some investors into a predicament over Musk’s dedication to Tesla.

There are also concerns regarding Q1 deliveries, which will be a big indication of where the year could be headed for Tesla.

The Monday slide was the biggest since late 2020 when shares dropped over 21 percent.

However, the slide presents a massive buying opportunity for investors, especially those who operate ETFs, like ARK. Long term, ARK believes Tesla shares (NASDAQ: TSLA) will be exponentially more expensive, especially leaning on the thesis that Robotaxi and AI/Optimus will translate to major growth in yet another sector for the company.

ARK bolstered its position on $TSLA in its ARKK Innovation ETF with a purchase of 68,164 shares. Tesla is the largest holding in ARKK with over $531 million in value. Tesla makes up exactly 10 percent of the ARKK ETF.

It also bought another 11,154 shares in its ARKQ Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF.

It’s no secret Tesla shares have taken a substantial hit in 2025, especially as the company’s price on Wall Street exploded following President Trump’s successful election campaign last year.

So far in 2025, Tesla shares are down over 38 percent. They are up nearly 5 percent as of 2:30 p.m. on the East Coast. Even bullish analysts are hoping some focus returns to Tesla on Musk’s part.

Dan Ives of Wedbush said in a note last night following the broad sell off:

“This is a gut check moment for the Tesla bulls (including ourselves) after this massive sell-off in Tesla shares with fears mounting/accelerating. The bears own the Tesla narrative in the near-term as lackluster sales numbers from Europe, China, and the US in January/February along with Musk protests/brand worries have created many concerns.”

He continued:

“While the DOGE/Trump Musk iron clad partnership has created major brand worries for Tesla…..we estimate less than 5% of Tesla sales globally are at risk from these issues despite the global draconian narrative for Musk. Importantly, we expect Musk will better balance his time between DOGE and Tesla/SpaceX over the course of 2025 and some of these distraction issues will fade.”

Investor's Corner

Elon Musk praises Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater for accumulating TSLA stock

Published

1 month ago

February 14, 2025

Simon Alvarez

Credit: Tesla Asia/X

A recent 13-F filing from legendary investor and billionaire Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates has revealed that the hedge fund has added over $62 million worth of Tesla stock (NASDAQ:TSLA) to its portfolio.

Elon Musk has praised the billionaire’s investment in a post on X.

Bridgewater’s TSLA stake:

As per Bridgewater’s 13-F filing, it currently holds 153,589 shares of TSLA, which costs $62,025,382.
The firm added the TSLA shares in the fourth quarter.
Tesla shares gained momentum after its Q3 2024 earnings call, and it only gained more strength after the election of U.S. President Donald Trump.
At the end of 2024, Tesla shares were up 62%, as noted in a MarketWatch report.
Tesla stock is still up 88% over 12 months despite a steep drop over the past month.

Smart move
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 14, 2025

A vote of confidence:

Bridgewater Associates is one of the largest hedge funds in the world, so the firm’s stake in TSLA could be interpreted as a vote of confidence in the electric vehicle maker.
Elon Musk has praised the firm’s investment. In a post on X, Musk noted that Bridgewater’s investment was a “smart move.”
Elon Musk has been quite consistent on his idea that Tesla could eventually become the world’s most valuable company. He emphasized this point during the Q4 2024 earnings call.
“I see a path. I’m not saying it’s an easy path but I see a path of Tesla being the most valuable company in the world by far. Not even close. There is a path where Tesla is worth more than the next top five companies combined,” Musk said.