Ah, Investors… (Or, More Specifically, Tesla Investors…)
I included Tesla’s “Model W” announcement in my clean transport link drop on April 2. I did read the article first, and I think anyone who read the article wouldn’t have to think much to realize it was an April Fool’s Day joke. For that reason, it didn’t even cross my mind to see what kind of effect the “news” had on the Tesla (TSLA) stock price. (Full disclosure: I’m long TSLA.) Looks like I was the one not thinking….
See that green arrow? That is where the break between April 1 and April 2 occurred. Either, a lot of investors greatly appreciated Tesla’s humor and thought it would help lead to wonderful success, or they were fooled. Note that the following picture was included in Tesla’s announcement about its “new watch” (the Model W):
It’s hard to believe either of those possibilities was what drove up the stock price, but one bit connects the dots: Reuters and others reported on the Tesla announcement as if it were real. Reuters later retracted the article and apologized for its error. Presumably, many investors saw the story on Reuters or elsewhere and didn’t see the (obviously joking) Tesla post.
All of that said, TSLA now sits at a higher price than it did when April 2 started (right after the big jump). What does that mean? Good question. My guess is that it has to do with many investors looking for reasons to jump in on the stock and then sell it off shortly for a profit. With no good opportunity to sell the stock now, but a likely opportunity or two coming before too long, my guess is that, for the most part, investors are now just waiting for the right time. However, I think another decent possibility is that people who think Tesla will rock it in the long term just took it as an opportunity to add to their stockpile.
No matter how you spin it, though, I think you have to admit this is quite funny. I actually think it’s a lot funnier than the initial Tesla Model W post — and it certainly fits the idea behind April Fool’s Day!
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See the drop right before it goes up. That’s the work of trading robots.
There are 2 kind of basic signals – fundamental and technical. April the 1. coincided with a technical signal. The joke, which would have been an fundamental signal did have no meaning at all.
But the drop was at the end of April 1. The jump was at the start of April 2. Doesn’t change anything?
The jump was on wed. before closing.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=tsla+interactive
Its actually in your chart too. Open 190.23
Both Yahoo & Google show the close being ~$187.5 on April 1 & opening being >$190 on April 2, the jump occurring between close of day April 1 & opening of the markets on April 2.
I would like to see him hire one strong person who doesn’t bow down. A company should survive if the founder goes to Mars. 🙂
You think Tesla could possibly be as successful as they’ve been without a large number of people who know how to think and make decisions?
Elon Musk has said many times that he get too much credit for TESLA success, that it is the work of many very smart devoted people.
I’m still not convinced their corporate structure can scale up to that of Apple, or Ford.
In order for that to happen there would need to be a shortage of smart, capable people.
7 billion people in the world. Looking at only the top 1% of smartest, most capable means a pool of 70 million to pick from. I don’t think Ford and Apple will hire them all. ;o)
As @MattPeffly:disqus notes, Elon has noted that he gets too much credit and is the visible face of Tesla but the credit goes to the many talented people working there. As just one example, JB Straubel is co-founder and CTO, and is absolutely amazing, yet gets very little credit (compared to Elon). There are many other great people on board. Furthermore, Elon has emphasized that he wants people who are not afraid to disagree with the boss and aren’t just do-boys. More on JB here, btw: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JB_Straubel
He also said multiple times that he put pretty much all his money into Tesla when they were nearly bankrupt. By doing that he was able to convince other, bigger investors that it’s not a waste of money.
So it’s pretty safe to say that Tesla probably wouldn’t exist right now (or at least not at that scale) if it wasn’t for Elon.
But yeah he couldn’t have done it without all the people that worked together with him, so it was a team effort. He just happens to be the most prominent face of Tesla and therefore get’s all the attention.
At least I’ll keep wearing my Tesla jacket to honor the whole company 🙂
Good points. 😀 I definitely wouldn’t take away his importance. We need faces that represent entire companies and revolutions, and he’s the face of Tesla and the EV revolution. I think he will be in the history books in 1-2 centuries, and beyond. Of course, they won’t be books, but you know what I mean. 😀
I have no idea if this stupid April fools joke had any affect on the stock price but why do it anyway. Not funny. Lame. Pointless.
A lot of companies have fun with April 1 now. It’s simply fun.
Why do April Fools pieces, because once a year it is nice to have a change out from the usual updates of terrorists activities or Justin Bieber’s partying.
Just like we don’t really need to hear every year about the latest way to make a grand “I Love You” statement at Valentines Day, or the different things done for 4th of July, Xmas, etc. But a change of pace is good for the mind and the soul and helps to break up the tedium.
Yes change can be nice and if it is funny, it is healthy to laugh. 🙂
Most people I know enjoy a laugh.
However, in the spirit of “changing things up,” it would be neat if The Onion reported like a “typical” media outlet on April 1. 😀