Finance Trends Letter

Well the long knives were certainly out for Tesla ( TSLA ) and its CEO, Elon Musk this week. Wall Street, legal firms, the SEC , and media talking heads were all roused to action (or comment) over Musk's recent proposal to take the company private at $420 per share. After floating the idea (via Twitter) of a private buyout of Tesla on August 7, Musk wrote to Tesla employees and shareholders about his vision for running Tesla as a private firm in a blog post entitled, "Taking Tesla Private" . Among the advantages of operating Tesla as a private firm (as well as the disadvantages of being a publicly traded company), Musk lists the following:  "... First, a final decision has not yet been made, but the reason for doing this is all about creating the environment for Tesla to operate best. As a public company, we are subject to wild swings in our stock price that can be a major distraction for everyone working at Tesla, all of whom are shareholders.  Being...

This post was originally published on September 14, 2017 in the Finance Trends Newsletter . Sign up to join our email list - you'll receive exclusive updates and market insights , plus the best of our website and social media content. Tesla Inc. ( TSLA ) shares, which closed at $377.64 today, are trading just below their 52-week high. A move above $387 would mark a new all-time high for the stock. That means no overhead price resistance, only the potential for blue skies above. Here is a monthly chart (log scale, click to enlarge) that goes back to Tesla's IPO in 2010. It shows the stock's full trading history, including the breakout move from $40 to $290 in 2013 - 2014. The weekly chart below shows Tesla's recent breakout (from a long 3-year trading range) above $300 and the run up to its highs above $386. If TSLA can hold these gains and advance an additional 4%, the stock will be trading at a new all-time high. $387 is the magic number here....

The internet and tech fans worldwide are buzzing about Tesla Motors' newest product announcement. Will the news send Tesla's stock ( TSLA ) higher? The upcoming "reveal" will probably be linked to Tesla's Model 3 car and its internal design, plus some much-anticipated autopilot advancements. Elon Musk dropped some hints on Twitter today about the nature of tonight's Tesla media event, scheduled for 5pm PST. There is no doubt that Tesla Motors is an incredibly innovative and exciting company, and the Model 3 in question is a major product. When the Model 3 is released to buyers in late 2017 and 2018, it will mark the full realization of Tesla's mission: to build and del...

Tesla ( TSLA ) shares are trending lower in 2016. It's only early February, but the stock is already down 26% year-to-date (Bloomberg stats) . We'll review the chart and outline what this means for TSLA shareholders. Having gapped lower and closed in the red on January 4th, the first trading day of the year, TSLA has continued to slide. Today, the stock is trading below $180 for the first time since May 2014, an 18-month low. Note: Tesla is expected to report earnings on February 10th. Note the annotations on this weekly chart. TSLA failed to make new highs in the summer and fall of 2015 and has faded lower since. The previous lows, from $177-$182, are marked with green arrows. The stock is currently trading at $174, a level last seen exactly 2 years ago in February 2014, when TSLA was trending higher . Having transformed the global car market with a truly sexy lineup of luxury EVs (electric vehicles), Tesla became one of the hottest momentum stocks of 2013...

Tesla Model X opening its Falcon Wing doors. Having made this GIF, I think it's safe to say I've gone full Elon Musk/Tesla fanboy. Well, it's pretty darn cool. Check out the full presentation at the Tesla Model X launch (watch). You can check out some of our previous Tesla and Elon Musk posts in the links below. Related posts : 1. Tesla vs. GM stock performance (it's not even close) . 2. Tesla hits new all-time high + Elon Musk interviews .

Tesla (TSLA) closed up 9 percent today on strong volume, with over 12 million shares transacted (almost twice its recent daily average volume).  The move above $220 and the 50 day moving average signals a bullish emergence from TSLA's recent base pattern. Are we seeing the start of a new uptrend in Tesla's stock price? Here's an updated TSLA chart with today's closing price at $224.61. The stock closed near the high of its daily range, another indication of strength. Elon Musk recently announced that Tesla would "open source" its patent portfolio, which should help fuel innovation in the EV market and encourage further build out of the needed electric charging infrastructure. Traders seem to have digested the patents strategy and decided in its favor.  More on Tesla's patent strategy and Musk's vision for electric cars from Wired: " ...Asked what Tesla shareholders thought of the company’s move, Musk downplayed the importance of...

General Motors vs. Tesla Motors in charts, from late 2010 to 2014. I'm sharing these charts to highlight the difference between a former industry leader, GM, and the auto industry's current leading growth stock, which is Tesla.  Let's say you have a choice between a former leader-turned-laggard and an emerging new leader with strong sales and earnings growth . Which investment will you choose? If you select the right stock, you will see a profound increase in your investment returns. First, let's look at the individual stock charts of post-bailout GM, which emerged from bankruptcy and IPO'd in November 2010 , and TSLA which IPO'd in June 2010 .  GM went public (again) at $33 a share with an IPO day close at $34.19. The stock peaked above $41 in late 2013. Today, GM trades at $34.87, about 2 percent higher than its first day closing price back in late 2010.  Tesla had a stronger IPO day back in June 2010, surging 41% from its $17 opening price to clo...

An oldie, but a goodie... In Reminiscences of a Stock Operator , protagonist Larry Livingston (aka Jesse Livermore) reminds readers of an old phrase, "He went short of Harlem" , which veteran speculators used as a shorthand for "he went bust". Maybe the modern version of that phrase is, " he went short of Tesla ".  He shorted Tesla. http://t.co/UDMCJAhh2x $TSLA — David Shvartsman (@FinanceTrends) September 30, 2013 Your ego may be telling you that the stock is "overvalued" and the bulls are wrong, but the market is telling us that Tesla is an emerging new leader in its dynamic growth phase . The price chart shows a very clear uptrend in progress - demand for the stock is fueling its ascent (for now). Until the facts change and the stock chart reveals a topping pattern and a shift towards a "stage 4" decline (see Stan Weinstein and Mark Minervini for more on this), a long or neutral (on the sidelines) bias would likely...

After a recent consolidation along its 20 day moving average, Tesla (TSLA) closed at a new all-time high today.  As you can see from the daily and weekly charts, the runaway move started in April when TSLA broke out above the $40 level on large volume (over 7 times its daily avg. volume). TSLA soon consolidated that move and continued higher, amidst a stream of exciting announcements and a growing wave of "Elon mania" (see recent interviews, videos below ), to its most recent prior peak in late May.  As of today, TSLA is up over 165% from its April 1 closing price. After noting some weakness in several leading stocks (including TSLA) on StockTwits + Twitter late last month, I soon realized that I was wrong on TSLA . What I mistook for topping action was actually just a pause before this latest, new high. The uptrend continues... Elon Musk discusses creativity, entrepreneurship and a new mode of travel (hyperloop) at Pando Monthly.   TED chats with ...