Is Cramer now supporting TSLA. When asked about TSLA in the mid 20s, I heard him say "Sell, Sell, Sell."
I've learned to ignore big-boy investors and do my own research. They all laughed at me when I put most of my savings in TSLA @ $ 29 (I'm a student). I'm laughing now (cashed partially @ 84).
Cramer has some funny quotes regarding Tesla, early on he said "they have sold a thousand cars... I personally have sold a thousand cars" and more recently he said "even the shorts want to own the car".
He is not recommending the stock yet. He is concerned about the short squeeze and wants to hold out until the price settles. He has been praising Elon's execution and the product openly, but has come short of telling people to buy it. In the past he has not recommended the stock, but mostly because it was too speculative for his audience. He always blessed it when someone called in and said, "I'm 23 years old and I'm taking a long shot on TSLA with money I can afford to lose." The bigger problem is TSLA didn't have a large enough market cap for Cramer to spend any time on it. If you would have used his methods to evaluate TSLA you would have come to the same conclusion I did when I bought it at $19. Now that TSLA is big enough, Cramer has started doing the work, and he is starting to see what we have known all along. My only beef with Cramer over TSLA is that he should have admitted he didn't know enough to make a call on the stock. He frequently does this with other stocks, I'm not sure why he went out on a limb and called TSLA a sell in the past when he clearly hadn't done the work that he preaches on it.
Cramer is coming around (albeit late). In a recent interview I watched he says that he wants a Model S and that he's going to test drive one (he said this last week). I wouldn't be surprised if he buys one very soon. He did say that he doesn't know how to value Tesla as a company and compared it to Amazon (very difficult to value). He calls it a cult stock and is telling people not to short it. I wouldn't be surprised though if Cramer comes around and calls it a "buy, buy, buy." I think it probably will be when Tesla has reached 25% gross margin on the Model S and the company has been de-risked even more. - - - Updated - - - Here's the video interview where Cramer says he wants a Model S and is going to test drive one: (This is from last week) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPt52YhqbHU And here's the video from this week where Cramer talks about Tesla in his show: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100751504
Hopefully his test drive goes well. As much as we can fault him or his show, it would be a good think if he actually bought the car and fell in love with it like most everyone else who has one.
Cramer test drives the Model S this morning on CNBC and loves it (of course): Cramers Tesla Test Drive - CNBC
I am glad Cramer isn't recommending TSLA. Because there's a saying. Do the reverse of what Cramer recommends.
If Cramer wants to appeal to an investor who has some room for higher risk, someone who plans on holding the stock for well over a year, then buy is the only recommendation. If he's talking to a trader looking to make a buck, then saying "I don't have a clue" is probably right. This stock could be down to $75 next Friday or be up to $120. Or right where it is, but that's probably the most unlikely.
Wasn't Cramer recommending buying some of the companies that went under in 2008 even the week it happened?
Yeah, I watched Cramer a lot back in 2008 (every day for several months) and read all his books, so I was able to get into his mind somewhat. Cramer, in my opinion, is somewhat risk-averse and often doesn't catch things super early. Like Apple, if I recall he was not in favor of the stock early on (2007/2008) but eventually got behind the stock during the middle of its run. So, I think with Tesla the stock is a bit too risky for him because gross margin, earnings and revenue are all so early on right now. When Tesla gets de-risked as a stock even more with increased earnings, 25% gross margin, then I think Cramer will have more confidence to get behind the stock. But by then, maybe the price of the stock will be much higher than now... so I don't know even then how strongly he'll get behind the stock. Also, I think if he gets a Model S (which I think he will) then that might change his opinion after several months of owning one.
You just nailed it. First, he says "I WANT ONE!" Then raves like crazy about the car. Then, after waffling back-and-forth -- maybe it's the next Amazon, maybe not. Then, it's a "cult" stock be careful of valuation, but, don't short it - don't bet against Elon. Finally, to conclude his analysis, just as you note... he just outright admits he's punting. Check out the video last night on his show Mad Money: Cramer Wowed by Tesla Test Drive