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!