Tesla, TSLA & the Investment World: the Perpetual Investors' Roundtable

[StealthP3D]

My etrade margin requirement went from 70% down to 40% about two days ago. Now just got an email that they raised it from 40% to 60%.

That's just one reason, of many good reasons, why you want to avoid trading on margin.

Someone who's reckless enough to find themselves over the limit must feel rather helpless as the broker jerks them around like a puppet on a string.

 

[Krugerrand]

I had done enough wet, cold, dangerous, dirty, and hard work by age 37 to last a lifetime. I was never ashamed of it but I realized I couldn't do it forever and it was no way to get ahead in the world. So when I started making real money through investing it felt really good, like I was finally master of my own destiny.

Every once in a while I reflect on all the shares I bought for a song and sold for a king's ransom. I wonder who sold them to me at such a low price. I might feel a tinge of sadness for that person. But then I realize they were probably a real jerk anyway. Right?

I know you were partly joking, but also not.

I was 14 at the time picking up garbage dropped by the other 14 year olds I had to sit next to in class. I had to endure their leers and taunts and ridicule. That’s heavy for many adults to handle, never mind a kid trying to navigate adolescence.

Like I said, life lesson. While I may have fit a category at 14, I haven’t fit either one since.

 

[StealthP3D]

2020 is a crazy year.

TSLA has gone up 7.x.

My Cleveland Browns will have a winning record.

I'm not sure which is more surreal.

You didn't tell us you bought a football team! Congrats.

 

[adiggs]

I know you were partly joking, but also not.

I was 14 at the time picking up garbage dropped by the other 14 year olds I had to sit next to in class. I had to endure their leers and taunts and ridicule. That’s heavy for many adults to handle, never mind a kid trying to navigate adolescence.

Like I said, life lesson. While I may have fit a category at 14, I haven’t fit either one since.

My version - I was washing the lunch dishes at school lunch. You can readily imagine what others thought of that, though I didn't notice or care particularly.

When I went applying for dishwashing jobs that summer, I had actual job experience! I was rich

 

[bkp_duke]

Tesla: German court halts factory plan over snake and lizard habitats

What F-ing side are these damn "environmentalists" on?

 

[UkNorthampton]

Subscribe to read | Financial Times

I won't quote as FT can be snippy.

Shell: It's the clean energy advocate execs who have left over several weeks & with prospect of a strategic review that probably isn't green/renewable friendly.

 

[Alphacrux]

That's just one reason, of many good reasons, why you want to avoid trading on margin.

Someone who's reckless enough to find themselves over the limit must feel rather helpless as the broker jerks them around like a puppet on a string.

Good advice. But one can have a margin account with a concentrated holding without being on margin. I not sure why they changed requirements twice in a row. I’m guessing two different brokers from the same department did the review or maybe an automated program lowered it first, and then perhaps a manual review nudged it back up again. Probably the latter.

 

[uujjj2]

Elon did not move out of CA for bad business issues. He left because TX factory for truck is that important. He is going to sleep in the factory to make our trucks and watch over our investments. Ownership!

I think the main motivation is the Mars project. No site in California can match the orbital mechanics of South Texas. And the reason Elon might care about the tax rate is he's interested in selling Tesla stock to fund the Mars stuff.

As far as the factories, I think the Fremont site is actually better off with less micromanagement from Elon. Tesla is still expanding in Fremont. We'll see Fremont production in 2021 almost 60% higher than 2019. The real reason the factory in China ramped so smoothly compared to Fremont is because Elon doesn't speak Chinese and couldn't micromanage. Elon himself has admitted that it was his own automation schemes that caused some of the delays and overruns in the Model 3 ramp.

 

[Artful Dodger]

I reread, and now I'm more confused than ever.
IWF and shares are frozen, and index shares are reported, but it seems the pro-forma weights are not accurate since they depend on share price.

From Equity Indices Policies & Practices Methodology
https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/d...logy-sp-equity-indices-policies-practices.pdf

Yes, I know what you mean, and I am also pondering this point. Seems to me that it's possible (while keeping an open mind) that S&P DJI uses the term "shares" in a different context here.

Could it be when they write "share" they mean something like 'portion of their index', or 'their share of the S&P'? Because really, how could S&P DJI even know how many TSLA shares an individual fund needs to hold? They don't know the fund's market cap, nor the portion of the fund's assets that are kept as cash reserve. The only thing the S&P can do is say "you need to hold this portion of the total value of all your equities in TSLA, this much in AAPL, and so on.

Word parsley like this is why I decided not to become a lawyer (when I was 14)...

Cheers!

 

[JustSaying]

I know you were partly joking, but also not.

I was 14 at the time picking up garbage dropped by the other 14 year olds I had to sit next to in class. I had to endure their leers and taunts and ridicule. That’s heavy for many adults to handle, never mind a kid trying to navigate adolescence.

Like I said, life lesson. While I may have fit a category at 14, I haven’t fit either one since.

At 15, I was the Dishwasher and Bus boy at the local Diner , weekend shift was 6pm to 4AM. On friday and saturday nights I cleaned the tables of all my School friends. Not a problem as most of them had jobs at other places so they could also afford their cars.
The job allowed me to buy my car , take flying lessons (from my Jr High english teacher, at 15 I was the youngest member of his flying club) and solo on my 16th birthday.
Actually great memories and life lessons from all the early jobs.

 

[Artful Dodger]

SpaceX: "Raptor Abort, Standing Down for the Day"

 

[Mardak]

Let me say that again, clearly: Tesla will exit the PANDEMIC year of 2020 with TWICE as much cash as their long-term debt.

What's a desirable ratio? Instead of $21 billion cash and $10.5 billion long-term debt, if Tesla paid off say all the long-term recourse debt, that would be $15.2 billion / $4.7 billion for greater than 3x ratio.

 

[wipster]

There’s always tomorrow!

Didn't I say that earlier? LOL!!!

 

[CorneliusXX]

At 15, I was the Dishwasher and Bus boy at the local Diner , weekend shift was 6pm to 4AM. On friday and saturday nights I cleaned the tables of all my School friends. Not a problem as most of them had jobs at other places so they could also afford their cars.
The job allowed me to buy my car , take flying lessons (from my Jr High english teacher, at 15 I was the youngest member of the flying club) and solo on my 16th birthday.
Actually great memories and life lessons from all the early jobs.

I believe this line of chat is still missing the fourth Yorkshireman.

 

[wipster]

What F-ing side are these damn "environmentalists" on?

Close enough:

 

[Artful Dodger]

What's a desirable ratio? Instead of $21 billion cash and $10.5 billion long-term debt, if Tesla paid off say all the long-term recourse debt, that would be $15.2 billion / $4.7 billion for greater than 3x ratio.

View attachment 615775

There was this comment earlier today on TMC if you missed it:

Elon Musk Says Additional Capital Rise to Retire Debt, Larger War Chest | h/t @JBRR

Addtionally, I'm sure there would be many consultants available to Zach to recommend a magic number, from the point of view of the ratings agencies.

Cheers!

 

[mejojo]

SP in March was between $105ish - $150ish. Let’s say you’re timing really sucks the banana and you bought $15,000 TSLA shares at $150 you’d have had 100 shares in hand.

Today those shares would be worth $65,000.

In conclusion, you’d have more money for a whole lot less work. But that’s okay, I understand some people need to do it the hard way. I wish you continued good luck and good fortune.

OTOH, can't do this with Buy & HODL

 

[pz1975]

I made a decision awhile ago that every time TSLA closes with a new ATH, I buy 1-2 items from the Tesla shop. With this current rise, I'm going to run out of things I want!

 

[MC3OZ]

I think the main motivation is the Mars project. No site in California can match the orbital mechanics of South Texas. And the reason Elon might care about the tax rate is he's interested in selling Tesla stock to fund the Mars stuff.

As far as the factories, I think the Fremont site is actually better off with less micromanagement from Elon. Tesla is still expanding in Fremont. We'll see Fremont production in 2021 almost 60% higher than 2019. The real reason the factory in China ramped so smoothly compared to Fremont is because Elon doesn't speak Chinese and couldn't micromanage. Elon himself has admitted that it was his own automation schemes that caused some of the delays and overruns in the Model 3 ramp.

Elon gave his reasons as, SpaceX and the Austin factory.
Life will be easier to mange, and more productive, if he is based in Texas.

Fremont has been a success. and critical to getting to this stage, the potential of the Austin site is next level.

Elon fixes more problems than he creates, sure they made some mistakes with the Model 3 ramp, but outside contractors also let them down. It was just a challenging era, but they learned a lot.

I don't think Elon moving to Texas will affect Fremont, the only likely significant upgrade to Fremont in future is a new paint shop similar to the one in Berlin/Austin.

Fremont is still an important factory, and an important part of the Tesla business. California is still and important market, and Californian software developers and engineers, are still very important employees.

Nothing much changes at Fremont, Elon mostly doesn't need to be there, I don't think he has a major gripe with California. This is more about progressing to the next phase. and Texas is good location for that progress.

 

[SeaNile]

No one thinks TSLA is going to drop/crash given the incredible performance lately?