First of all, thank you for correcting my erroneous date. There is one more also - the reference to 1998 should obviously be 1988.
As to options, I agree, they should not be a regular "go to" investment product for investors. I do think when the opportunity presents itself they make a wonderful addition to long-term holdings. Typically when I look at available options I have to pinch my nose closed, scrunch my face up and walk away. The prices tend to stink. But if I see the prices on the options are reflecting a large disparity between (what I believe to be) reality and other peoples' perceptions, I'll bite with gusto.
I know many here probably believe that I think disruptive companies like MSFT should be held forever but that is not what I do or believe. I sold all my early MSFT in 1998 because I figured that it was close to topping out (and I had already identified a much more promising investment). Little did I know the crazy bull market took it higher for almost two more years. While I didn't get the very top of MSFT that first happened in 2000, I did put it all into an even more profitable place so that made me feel better about my slightly early exit. Notice how I referred to two years and missing out on the final doubling of my investment as "slightly early"? That's what I'm talking about when I say to look at the "big picture". It's about capturing the bulk of the gains and not fretting over whether the stock might go down 40% next quarter (as long as the overall growth story is intact). The secret is to ride the wave long enough that you are not worried about losing 40% of it (in order to continue to ride the wave that is not close to breaking yet).
I bought back into MSFT for the second wave at $32ish (around 6 years ago) and sold it all recently (well over $100) to bolster my TSLA position.
What I recommend is that people not jump out just because they have had a good run. The run can be a lot better than you ever thought was possible. Don't worry about a bad quarter or two if the fundamentals are intact. Be willing to ride a potential down wave for a year or two if there is still a lot of potential growth and the story is intact. But if a stock has played out all the potential growth, or if the overall story has become broken, yes, get out. Don't try to hit the very tippy-top, don't have a hair-trigger - look at the big, big, big picture. And exit if it's time and only if it's time.
As long as the Tesla growth story remains intact, this is the kind of thing that not even war can completely break. Excepting for the kind of war I dare not even ponder, global thermo-nuclear war, in which case you will have bigger concerns than whether Tesla is performing up to snuff! This is not reason enough to invest money you cannot afford to lose, I'm just saying it is a very favorable bet.
This bull run we are on has only just begun. I'm not saying this because I'm a foolish optimist, I'm basing it on the known facts and previous observations. While it's not a given truth, it's the next best thing. Only something very substantial could break this run at this point in time. Which is why I call people selling at $400 fools. This opinion of mine is based on a lot of varied types of information coming together and reinforcing itself. I'm not talking about confirmation bias here. Most of this information has been discussed here in-depth and repetitively. One thing that has not been given enough weight or emphasis is discussed by Dim CNBC Tim and Cathie Woods in the last 2 minutes of this video (the entire April 2019 interview is somewhat interesting but start at 11:00 and watch the last two minutes):
Even Dim Tim was left speechless and had to concede her point by his body language. Dim Tim is definitely not the brightest bulb in the room but he does know a thing or two about a stock that has built such a lengthy base.
