TSLA Market Action: 2018 Investor Roundtable

[KarenRei]

Damn!! I had a margin call and had to sell some shares! I still believe in TSLA, but I got too optimistic. I know better and still screwed up. I sure wish Elon would lose his Twitter!

"We have no interest in satisfying the desires of day traders, like we couldn't care less. Please sell our stock and don't buy it." -- Elon Musk

The only investors Elon cares about are those who buy stock (not financial products, not on margin) and hold.

 

[KarenRei]

Feel free to add.


First draft below. Would welcome everyone's thoughts and edits. IANAL, but I don't see any reason we shouldn't be able to make this happen.


Dear Elon/Tesla board,


Thank you all for the hard work that Tesla has done to push the limits of innovation and bringing us to a sustainable future. We as retail investors also share your concern on short selling. Short selling, when done right, can have a positive impact for society by allowing people to de-risk and create efficient capital markets. With Tesla, we’ve seen shorts who will publish demonstrably false slander to actively hurt the company. That is not beneficial, and even criminal.


We share your opinions on short selling, but until now, we have not had an alternative. We ask that the IR team at Tesla helps us as follows:

1. Work with a reputable brokerage firm(e.g. Fidelity) to provide retail investors an option, so that at no one-time or maintenance fees to us, we can transfer our shares into a particular account at that firm. Even if Tesla has to spend a small amount of money for administration, we believe this option brings investors closer with the company
   
   
2. The brokerage firm will then agree to not lend out shares to shorts, and in all other capacities, act like a standard brokerage account (both for standard accounts and IRAs)
   
   
3. Then, we would request that you at Tesla’s CEO work with institutional investors to get them to not lend shares short. We hope you would only have to speak with 10-15 people.

Up until now, we have not had options where our shares aren’t deployed against us. We encourage the Tesla IR team to look into this idea, and if the legal team determines it to be feasible, help provide the Tesla community/supporters an option.


Respectfully,


The Tesla Faithful

Please, add something there about international stockholders...

 

[TSLA_Hopeful]

Dear Elon/Tesla board,


Thank you all for the hard work that Tesla has done to push the limits of innovation and bringing us to a sustainable future. We as retail investors also share your concern on short selling. Short selling, when done right, can have a positive impact for society by allowing people to de-risk and create efficient capital markets. With Tesla, we’ve seen shorts who will publish demonstrably false slander to actively hurt the company. That is not beneficial, and even criminal.


We share your opinions on short selling, but until now, we have not had an alternative. We ask that the IR team at Tesla helps us as follows:

1. Work with a reputable brokerage firm(e.g. Fidelity) to provide retail investors an option, so that at no one-time or maintenance fees to us, we can transfer our shares into a particular account at that firm. Even if Tesla has to spend a small amount of money for administration, we believe this option brings investors closer with the company
   
   
2. The brokerage firm will then agree to not lend out shares to shorts, and in all other capacities, act like a standard brokerage account (both for standard accounts and IRAs)
   
   
3. Then, we would request that you at Tesla’s CEO work with institutional investors to get them to not lend shares short. We hope you would only have to speak with 10-15 people
   
   
4. Please ensure that international investors are included as well
   

Up until now, we have not had options where our shares aren’t deployed against us. We encourage the Tesla IR team to look into this idea, and if the legal team determines it to be feasible, help provide the Tesla community/supporters an option.


Respectfully,


The Tesla Faithful

Please, add something there about international stockholders...

 

[MP3Mike]

Up until now, we have not had options where our shares aren’t deployed against us. We encourage the Tesla IR team to look into this idea, and if the legal team determines it to be feasible, help provide the Tesla community/supporters an option.

This is false. Buy shares with your own money and they can't be lent out without your permission.

Then, we would request that you at Tesla’s CEO work with institutional investors to get them to not lend shares short. We hope you would only have to speak with 10-15 people.

This is the only part of that letter that could help. And there is 0% chance of it happening. Institutional investors have a duty to their investors to get higher returns and lending shares helps do that in the long term. (They get the loan fees.) It only hurts them if you are trading on a short term basis.)

 

[TSLA_Hopeful]

Dear Elon/Tesla board,


Thank you all for the hard work that Tesla has done to push the limits of innovation and bringing us to a sustainable future. We as retail investors also share your concern on short selling. Short selling, when done right, can have a positive impact for society by allowing people to de-risk and create efficient capital markets. With Tesla, we’ve seen shorts who will publish demonstrably false slander to actively hurt the company. That is not beneficial, and even criminal.


We share your opinions on short selling, but until now, we have not had an alternative. We ask that the IR team at Tesla helps us as follows:

1. Work with a reputable brokerage firm(e.g. Fidelity) to provide retail investors an option, so that at no one-time or maintenance fees to us, we can transfer our shares into a particular account at that firm. Even if Tesla has to spend a small amount of money for administration, we believe this option brings investors closer with the company
   
   
2. The brokerage firm will then agree to not lend out shares to shorts, and in all other capacities, act like a standard brokerage account (both for standard accounts and IRAs)
   
   
3. Then, we would request that you at Tesla’s CEO work with institutional investors to get them to not lend shares short. We hope you would only have to speak with 10-15 people
   
   
4. Please ensure that international investors are included as well

Up until now, we have not had options where our shares aren’t deployed against us. We encourage the Tesla IR team to look into this idea, and if the legal team determines it to be feasible, help provide the Tesla community/supporters an option.


Respectfully,


The Tesla Faithful

Zach, if you're not comfortable putting it as a Cleantechnica sponsored post, just saying it's an open letter would be doing us a great service as well.

 

[TSLA_Hopeful]

This is false. Buy shares with your own money and they can't be lent out without your permission.



This is the only part of that letter that could help. And there is 0% chance of it happening. Institutional investors have a duty to their investors to get higher returns and lending shares helps do that in the long term. (They get the loan fees.) It only hurts them if you are trading on a short term basis.)

Let me re-phrase. I'll say, including as a margin account. That way, we can still hold everything in one account, we just don't allow our Tesla shares to be sold short. That makes it easy and seamless for us.

 

[TSLA_Hopeful]

Dear Elon/Tesla board,


Thank you all for the hard work that Tesla has done to push the limits of innovation and bringing us to a sustainable future. We as retail investors also share your concern on short selling. Short selling, when done right, can have a positive impact for society by allowing people to de-risk and create efficient capital markets. With Tesla, we’ve seen shorts who will publish demonstrably false slander to actively hurt the company. That is not beneficial, and even criminal.


We share your opinions on short selling, but until now, we have not had an alternative. We ask that the IR team at Tesla helps us as follows:

1. Work with a reputable brokerage firm(e.g. Fidelity) to provide retail investors an option, so that at no one-time or maintenance fees to us, we can transfer our shares into a particular account at that firm. Even if Tesla has to spend a small amount of money for administration, we believe this option brings investors closer with the company
   
   
2. The brokerage firm will then agree to not lend out shares to shorts, and in all other capacities, act like a standard brokerage account (both for standard accounts, margin accounts and IRAs)
   
   
3. The shares and holdings of other equities and stocks would be unaffected, only Tesla would not be lent out to short
   
   
4. Then, we would request that you at Tesla’s CEO work with institutional investors to get them to not lend shares short. We hope you would only have to speak with 10-15 people
   
   
5. Please ensure that international investors have this option as well
   

Up until now, we have not had options where our shares aren’t deployed against us. We encourage the Tesla IR team to look into this idea, and if the legal team determines it to be feasible, help provide the Tesla community/supporters an option.


Respectfully,


The Tesla Faithful

 

[MP3Mike]

Let me re-phrase. I'll say, including as a margin account. That way, we can still hold everything in one account, we just don't allow our Tesla shares to be sold short. That makes it easy and seamless for us.

They would have to raise the margin rate to make up for the loss of income. And it still wouldn't make a significant difference. If you can convince Institutional holders to not lend their shares that would make a huge difference. But I just don't see that as even being a possibility.

 

[TSLA_Hopeful]

They would have to raise the margin rate to make up for the loss of income. And it still wouldn't make a significant difference. If you can convince Institutional holders to not lend their shares that would make a huge difference. But I just don't see that as even being a possibility.

Seems to me more constructive use of Elon's time, than just venting on twitter. Hope the letter could help him do something.

 

[KarenRei]

They would have to raise the margin rate to make up for the loss of income. And it still wouldn't make a significant difference. If you can convince Institutional holders to not lend their shares that would make a huge difference. But I just don't see that as even being a possibility.

I don't think you understand that many of us would gladly pay higher fees if it would mean denying the shorts stock.

 

[AlexS]

OMG! 52 weeks low is getting close. pfff... I wanna slap Elon for his posts

 

[KarenRei]

Wow, broke $261 there. Maybe the first of my buys will actually go off today

ED: ....and, done.

 

[omarsultan]

Maybe eliminate "slander" as the has a specific definition. I'd also kill the sentence: "That is not beneficial, and even criminal." as I am not sure anything has crossed that threshold either.

 

[MP3Mike]

I don't think you understand that many of us would gladly pay higher fees if it would mean denying the shorts stock.

Then don't use margin. Use a HELOC, or some other personal loan, if you have to buy shares with money you don't have. Shoot, take a cash advance on your credit card if you are so willing to pay higher fees...

 

[ZachShahan]

"We have no interest in satisfying the desires of day traders, like we couldn't care less. Please sell our stock and don't buy it." -- Elon Musk

The only investors Elon cares about are those who buy stock (not financial products, not on margin) and hold.

I actually think that's true.

 

[KarenRei]

OMG! 52 weeks low is getting close. pfff... I wanna slap Elon for his posts

Meh. Most of the movement you're seeing is tracking the broader market.

 

[KarenRei]

Then don't use margin. Use a HELOC, or some other personal loan, if you have to buy shares with money you don't have. Shoot, take a cash advance on your credit card if you are so willing to pay higher fees...

Is it really only shares on margin that can be shorted?

 

[CuriousSunbird]

Yesterday everyone got upset with me for picking $264.20 as this weeks closing price. It was tongue in cheek with the 420.

To my surprise, we just crossed that number... In all honesty, I am at a loss to explain today's price action unless some big institution is selling out.

If you were a big institution weighing whether to stay in or leave after the SEC settlement, would last evening's Twitter antics make you more or less likely to stay?

 

[MP3Mike]

Is it really only shares on margin that can be shorted?

No, as has been said before shares in a margin account, or shares that you sign up to be included in a stock lending program. (In addition I think the margin account has to have an active balance, and they can only lend out shares valued at up to that margin balance.)

 

[KarenRei]

Yesterday everyone got upset with me for picking $264.20 as this weeks closing price. It was tongue in cheek with the 420. To my surprise, we just crossed that number... In all honesty, I am at a loss to explain today's price action unless some big institution is selling out.

Really? You don't understand why the stock keeps declining today?