Connect with us

News

Tesla isn’t the only company millennials are betting on

Next-gen Tesla Roadster and Cybertruck at Hawthorne Design Center, 2019 Tesla Holiday Party (Credit: giftedkick_/Instagram)

Published

on

Millennial stock investors are betting heavily on Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) stock, which has been on a record-breaking run over the past two months, but it isn’t the only company that they’re keen to invest in.

After analyzing more than 734,000 investor portfolios, Apex Clearing reveals TSLA is the third most preferred stock by millennial investors, which trails Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN). Other millennial favorites include tech titans Facebook, Microsoft, Netflix, and Alibaba. Surprisingly, Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway also made the list, joining Advanced Micro Devices, and Disney in the Top 10 most popular stocks among thirtysomethings.

“From responding to key market moves, showing a keen interest in recent IPOs, and investing based on their values, millennials have proved to be a unique audience differing from their generational counterparts,” says Apex CEO Bill Capuzzi in a press release.

Top 10 Most Popular Stocks Among Millenials

  1. Apple
  2. Amazon
  3. Tesla
  4. Facebook
  5. Microsoft
  6. Berkshire Hathaway
  7. Walt Disney
  8. Netflix
  9. Advanced Micro Devices
  10. Alibaba

Tesla’s popularity with Generation Y investors isn’t surprising, considering Elon Musk’s sway with the younger crowd. Forbes contributor Deep Patel attributes Musk’s appeal to millennials to a few things.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk isn’t your regular CEO. With a revolutionary vision to transition the world away from an Earth-destroying fossil fuel reliance to creating a “backup plan for humans“, the Cyberpunk and video-game obsessed CEO is a sure hit with thirtysomethings.

Musk is on a mission to change the world and his particular brand of idealistic, visionary, and even rebellious approach is what appeals to millennials so much.

Advertisement

Also, Musk isn’t afraid to be where the younger crowd hangs out, chatting it up with his fans and supporters that can sometimes be about the most mundane things, like his appreciation for chairs. This gives him a human side,  one with humor that allows customers and investors to personally relate to and connect with him on a deeper, personal level.

It appears the millennial preference for Musk and Tesla stock is paying off. Just last week, Tesla hit a record high as its stock crossed $555, driving the company’s market valuation to become the second most valuable automaker in the world. Already the most valuable US car manufacturer, surging past Ford’s record-setting $81 billion in 1991, many expect Tesla’s ambitious future to ultimately overtake Toyota as the most valuable car company. Ever.

The historic run follows a series of successes for Tesla, including the first mass delivery of its Made-in-China Model 3, the announcement of Gigafactory Berlin, and a 50 percent rise in annual deliveries in 2019.

Advertisement

Rest assure that investors, both young and old, will be looking forward to tomorrow’s Tesla earnings call wherein Musk is expected to make several surprise announcements.

News

Tesla Model Y may gain an extra 90 miles of range with Panasonic’s next-gen battery

The Japanese company is pursuing an anode-free design.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla Manufacturing

Panasonic is developing a new high-capacity EV battery that could potentially extend the range of a Tesla Model Y by 90 miles. 

The Japanese company, one of Tesla’s key battery suppliers, is pursuing an anode-free design that it says could deliver a “world-leading” level of capacity by the end of 2027.

Panasonic’s anode-free design

The technology Panasonic is pursuing would eliminate the anode during the manufacturing process, as noted in a Reuters report. By freeing up space for more active cathode materials such as nickel, cobalt, and aluminum, the Japanese company expects a 25% increase in capacity without expanding battery size. 

That could allow Tesla’s Model Y to gain an estimated 145 kilometers (90 miles) of additional range if equipped with a battery that matches its current pack’s size. At the same time, Panasonic could use smaller, lighter batteries to achieve the Model Y’s current range. 

Panasonic also aims to reduce reliance on nickel, which remains one of the more costly raw materials. A senior executive previewed the initiative to reporters ahead of a scheduled presentation by Panasonic Energy’s technology chief, Shoichiro Watanabe.

Advertisement

Tesla implications

The breakthrough, if achieved, could strengthen Panasonic’s position as Tesla’s longest-standing battery partner at a time when the automaker is preparing to enter an era of extreme scale driven by high-volume products like the Cybercab and Optimus.

Elon Musk has stated that products like Optimus would be manufactured at very high scale, so it would likely be an all-hands-on-deck situation for the company’s suppliers.

Panasonic did not share details on production costs or how quickly the new batteries might scale for commercial applications. That being said, the Japanese supplier has long been a partner of Tesla, so it makes sense for the company to also push for the next generation of battery innovation while the EV maker pursues even more lofty ambitions.

Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Tesla called ‘biggest meme stock we’ve ever seen’ by Yale associate dean

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) is being called “the biggest meme stock we’ve ever seen” by Yale School of Management Senior Associate Dean Jeff Sonnenfeld, who made the comments in a recent interview with CNBC.

Sonnenfeld’s comments echo those of many of the company’s skeptics, who argue that its price-to-earnings ratio is far too high when compared to other companies also in the tech industry. Tesla is often compared to companies like Apple, Nvidia, and Microsoft when these types of discussions come up.

Fundamentally, yes, Tesla does trade at a P/E level that is significantly above that of any comparable company.

However, it is worth mentioning that Tesla is not traded like a typical company, either.

Here’s what Sonnenfeld said regarding Tesla:

“This is the biggest meme stock we’ve ever seen. Even at its peak, Amazon was nowhere near this level. The PE on this, well above 200, is just crazy. When you’ve got stocks like Nvidia, the price-earnings ratio is around 25 or 30, and Apple is maybe 35 or 36, Microsoft around the same. I mean, this is way out of line to be at a 220 PE. It’s crazy, and they’ve, I think, put a little too much emphasis on the magic wand of Musk.”

Many analysts have admitted in the past that they believe Tesla is an untraditional stock in the sense that many analysts trade it based on narrative and not fundamentals. Ryan Brinkman of J.P. Morgan once said:

“Tesla shares continue to strike us as having become completely divorced from the fundamentals.”

Dan Nathan, another notorious skeptic of Tesla shares, recently turned bullish on the stock because of “technicals and sentiment.” He said just last week:

“I think from a trading perspective, it looks very interesting.”

Nathan said Tesla shares show signs of strength moving forward, including holding its 200-day moving average and holding against current resistance levels.

Sonnenfeld’s synopsis of Tesla shares points out that there might be “a little too much emphasis on the magic wand of Musk.”

Elon Musk just bought $1 billion in Tesla stock, his biggest purchase ever

This could refer to different things: perhaps his recent $1 billion stock buy, which sent the stock skyrocketing, or the fact that many Tesla investors are fans and owners who do not buy and sell on numbers, but rather on news that Musk might report himself.

Tesla is trading around $423.76 at the time of publication, as of 3:25 p.m. on the East Coast.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla makes big change to Full Self-Driving doghouse that drivers will like

Now, it is changing the timeframe of which strikes will be removed, cutting it in half. The strikes will be removed every 3.5 days, as long as no strikes are received during the time period.

Published

on

tesla cabin facing camera
Tesla's Cabin-facing camera is used to monitor driver attentiveness. (Credit: Andy Slye/YouTube)

Tesla is making a big change to its Full Self-Driving doghouse that drivers will like.

The doghouse is a hypothetical term used to describe the penalty period that Tesla applies to drivers who receive too many infractions related to distracted driving.

Previously, Tesla implemented a seven-day ban on the use of Full Self-Driving for those who received five strikes in a vehicle equipped with a cabin camera and three strikes for those without a cabin camera.

It also forgave one strike per week of Full Self-Driving use, provided the driver did not receive any additional strikes during the seven-day period.

Now, it is changing the timeframe of which strikes will be removed, cutting it in half. The strikes will be removed every 3.5 days, as long as no strikes are received during the time period.

The change was found by Not a Tesla App, which noticed the adjustment in the Owner’s Manual for the 2025.32 Software Update.

The system undoubtedly helps improve safety as it helps keep drivers honest. However, there are definitely workarounds, which people are using and promoting for monetary gain, and you can find them on basically any online marketplace, including TikTok shop and Amazon:

People are marketing the product as an FSD cheat device, which the cabin-facing camera will not be able to detect, allowing you to watch something on a phone or look through the windshield at the road.

The safeguards implemented by Tesla are designed to protect drivers from distractions and also protect the company itself from liability. People are still using Full Self-Driving as if it were a fully autonomous product, and it is not.

Tesla even says that the driver must pay attention and be ready to take over in any scenario:

“Yes. Autopilot is a driver assistance system that is intended to be used only with a fully attentive driver. It does not turn a Tesla into a fully autonomous vehicle.

Before enabling Autopilot, you must agree to “keep your hands on the steering wheel at all times” and to always “maintain control and responsibility for your vehicle.” Once engaged, Autopilot will also deliver an escalating series of visual and audio warnings, reminding you to place your hands on the wheel if insufficient torque is applied or your vehicle otherwise detects you may not be attentive enough to the road ahead. If you repeatedly ignore these warnings, you will be locked out from using Autopilot during that trip.

You can override any of Autopilot’s features at any time by steering or applying the accelerator at any time.”

It is good that Tesla is rewarding those who learn from their mistakes with this shorter timeframe to lose the strikes. It won’t be needed forever, though, as eventually, the company will solve autonomy. The question is: when?

Continue Reading

Trending