Last Friday, the Wall Street Journal ran a piece about a man who bet his entire life savings on Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA). The article created a certain amount of contention, and the paper is letting the man speak out against his critics in an article today. Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares have been trading strongly in 2013, on news of an unexpected profitable quarter.
Sam Cornwell, a 32 year old student from Great Britain, invested his entire life savings in Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) back in September when shares in the company were trading at $27.50. The sum totaled $25,000 back then, but the shares are trading for more than $90 since the company’s earnings report and debt deal were announced.
Cornwell defended his choice of Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) in the WSJ today. He says he’s not investing in Tesla for a quick turnaround, he’s in it for the long haul, even after the massive gains he’s made so far in 2013. According to Cornwell “I really, really believe in what Tesla is doing. I wanted to own a piece of a company that will, in my opinion, change the world for the better within a decade.”
Cornwell says that was the most important consideration for him when purchasing stock in Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA). Earnings and other more traditional metrics were important, but believing in the firm’s mission was the real driver behind his investment. That’s a commendable sentiment, and it’s worked for him so far, but some analysts aren’t so sure about the company.
Last week, Bank of America released a report that called Tesla overvalued and put a price target of just $37 per share on the company. Today, a Trefis research report asserted that the company’s shares are only worth $71. On today’s market, Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares trended down, sitting at $90.82 per share at time of writing.
The most important point of the piece from Cornwell is his final sentence “I won’t let the day traders goad me into selling.” This is the most important piece of knowledge that any investor can possess. Do your own research, rely on your own instincts, don’t believe the word of some analyst or some other trader.
Cornwell is doing just that. Whether or not his bet works out is something impossible to tell right now, and he’s not planning to sell until after the company has hit the mass market.
