Although I'd been a TMC member for years, I only stumbled upon this thread earlier in 2020 when TSLA started taking off. In 2017, I took my entire 401k from my first job (a modest sum) and invested it all in TSLA. Being in an IRA helped me remain pretty much a "dead investor," not checking the SP very often at all.
Once TSLA broke out of the $200s (pre-split) in its first epic run, I started paying more attention. For various personal reasons, I'll probably end up withdrawing from my IRA even with the extra early-withdrawal penalty, so when my modest investment started to look like real money, I started playing with the numbers and thinking about what that could mean if I were to sell.
Finding this forum saved me from the mistake of selling early. Specifically, @StealthP3D's words of wisdom stick out very early on, but of course aided by excellent posts from a number of experienced and knowledgeable posters. Recently, @Artful Dodger's post underscored better than I ever could the best reason to be invested in TSLA. The synopsis in my head is "It's the mission, stupid!"
It just so happens that investing in this mission can increase one's wealth beyond what I previously thought was possible. Yesterday my portfolio increased more than my initial investment, and soon I'll have enough to pay off all worldly debts should I need to do so. I'll be HODLing, of course, but I never thought I'd be in this sort of advantageous position at this stage in my life.
It feels odd to have this bright spot in my life, and in general to be in a position to work from home during this pandemic and political strife in my country. There's a bit of guilt that comes along with this knowing the juxtaposition of my life versus a significant portion of the population around the world. But countering that feeling is the mission. I didn't place a wild speculative bet on Bitcoin, I invested in a brighter future, and with Elon and everyone at Tesla's Herculean efforts, that investment is paying off handsomely.
