We like the Motley Fool. It’s a mainstay of investment advice written by intelligent people, a few of which are great writers. In the interest of full disclosure, I recently sold 128 shares of Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), that is to say ALL I owned in Tesla. That sale has allowed me to break ground on my dream home involving a plot of land in Guatemala that I can’t remember buying eight years ago and struggled to find the land title. I know, crazy.
Sean Williams, of The Motley Fool, recently suggested that investors in Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) are crazier than the man he clearly envies. This is not a dig at Sean Williams, an admitted Tesla shorter (oops), but the suggestion that “crazy” is relative.
I don’t enjoy the horrible scar left on my neck from the extinguishing of a cigarette. It would, however, have been the acme of folly to have not done that—not screamed, nor broke a bottle over my head, and acted the fool rather than getting battered by the three men in a bar well north of 11oth Street, NYC intent on doing me harm. The scar is a badge of smart, the gravestone less so.
Who sails west when by all accounts the world is flat? Who defies murderous popes and makes it clear that the earth isn’t the center of the universe? Who tells Fleming to wash his laboratory station and dishes?
Crazy is truly relative, and I would add that Mr. Williams is right. Don’t buy Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares unless you’re sure your child is committed to a community college, unmarried pregnancy, and a life cleaning others’ teeth. My experience in a community college is something I would never give back if I was able, never mind the paternity tests.
Elon Musk valuating Tesla
Elon Musk agrees, if an interview last month is any measure.
“I actually think that the value of Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) right now is… the market’s being very generous, and they’re obviously giving us a lot of credit for future execution. So, we’ll do our best to honor the faith that the market has placed in us. I really feel like the valuation we’ve gotten is… that we have right now… is more than we have any right to deserve, honestly. I think we need to make sure we really knock the ball out of the park in the coming years.”
Mr. Williams, thank you for both your humility and the quote you began your linked article with….
To quote Oscar Levant: “There’s a fine line between genius and insanity.”
To quote Brendan Byrne, “There is a broad gap between my house and your shortsightedness.”
