I purchased Tesla at its $17 IPO whereas standing on a mountain cross on Catalina Island, a determined transfer that was a $2.4 million fortune by late 2025. My son and I had been on a Boy Scout tenting journey once I realized I had zero cellphone sign and wanted to put my order earlier than markets opened. I hiked uphill till I discovered a spot the place a cross marked the height, lastly acquired one bar, and frantically tapped the purchase button on my brokerage app.
This story was shared within the feedback on Herbert Ong’s YouTube video, the place early traders swapped tales of life-changing returns. Again then, the corporate priced its preliminary providing at precisely $17 per share, elevating $226 million within the first U.S. automaker IPO in a long time.
Fifteen years later, this commenter’s unique stake has ballooned by over 38,000% thanks to 2 inventory splits and relentless execution by Elon Musk’s group.
I used to be an automotive engineer earlier than switching to aerospace, the place I competed instantly in opposition to SpaceX from its earliest days.
Watching Elon Musk function up shut satisfied me that electrical automobiles weren’t a fad however the inevitable way forward for transportation. My first EV was a 2000 Ford Ranger Electrical, a clunky proof-of-concept that confirmed me batteries and motors may substitute inside combustion.
When Tesla filed for its IPO, I acknowledged the identical relentless engineering tradition I had seen at SpaceX, solely utilized to mass-market automobiles. In accordance with CNBC, a $10,000 funding on the IPO value could be value almost $3 million at this time, a return that mirrors my very own expertise nearly precisely. I by no means imagined the corporate would additionally grow to be an AI robotics powerhouse; I simply believed within the mission to speed up sustainable vitality.
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Since that IPO buy, I’ve owned 16 totally different electrical automobiles, seven of which had been Teslas, and my present favourite is the Cybertruck. I jumped on Tesla’s photo voltaic providing instantly after the SolarCity acquisition in 2016, putting in panels the second the deal closed. When the primary Powerwall launched in 2015, I pre-ordered and have upgraded with every new technology, creating a totally built-in residence vitality system.
Each Tesla in my driveway runs Full Self Driving, a characteristic that has advanced from a gimmick right into a genuinely helpful autonomy suite. In accordance with Automotive and Driver, Cybertruck deliveries started in November 2023 after years of delays, and the truck’s polarizing design has grown on me because the most succesful EV I’ve ever pushed. My storage now seems to be like a Tesla showroom, with photo voltaic panels overhead, Powerwalls on the wall, and a Cybertruck plugged right into a Wall Connector.
