Thanks
@Jackl1956 . Your devotion to Tesla as a proxy for your grandkids touched me deeply years ago. I have twin granddaughters too.
My story starts fairly late in the game. Background: I'm a tech consultant who has tended to be ahead of the curve over the last 30 years. But until a couple of years ago, I was convinced that developments in cars were barely incremental. Until recently, I owned a Suzuki SX4 for practicality (cheapest 4WD to reach the family cottage in winter) and a 2007 Miata for summertime fun. I'd never spent more than CA$18,000 on any of ~8 cars I've bought in my lifetime. I believe a car is the worst "investment" you can make as a big, depreciating asset, so mostly I'd bought used cars at the sweet-spot of 2 years old and ~40% post-depreciation. I'd heard of Tesla, but knew almost nothing about them, or about Elon. Lastly, by choice, I rent, so I have almost no material assets, but I have 7 figures invested. I had followed a strict and profitable ETF / index fund model which balanced Cdn / US / Global / bonds. I kept it simple with no "bets" on specific companies.
Fast forward to 2017. A friend of mine is in an accident, her car is totalled, and she needs to buy a new car. I said "Ooo! Can I help do some research for you? I like doing car research!". She says yes. After a bit of work, I ask her, among other requirements, does she care for a hybrid? She says, "sure, I guess that would be good". So I start looking at Prius' and the Mitsubishi PHEV, the upcoming Hyundai / KIA models, etc. - but so many compromises. Then I see the rarer reviews of BEVs like the BOLT and the LEAF. Oh, yeah, there're expensive Teslas too. What are those all about..?
The more I learn about Tesla and Elon, the more blown away I am by how much (and how many!) paradigm shifts are involved - powertrain, design, autonomy, manufacturing, distribution, advertising, solar, SpaceX, Boring, etc. I was a big believer in Windows 95 when the business establishment was dismissively saying "a mouse and fancy graphics just slows things down - nobody wants that!". I digress.
So the more I learn, the more I'm convinced how inevitable the shift to electric will be. As a strong environmentalist, I'm amazed at how ignorant I've been at this company and the viability of this option. Despite having two cars already, in January 2018 I excitedly put down a deposit on an AWD Model 3! I figure if I truly care about the world my granddaughters will inherit - put your money where your mouth is! Show them!! The 3 will cost me 5 times more than any car I've ever bought before - yikes! My friend ends up buying a hugely-inefficient Subaru Crosstrek to drive just herself around. Pfft.
As I'm waiting for Model 3 production to ramp up and Canadian deliveries to start, I read Elon's biography during a 2-month trip through South America (see day-hiking supplies below) - despite trekking in beautiful Patagonia, I'm obsessed by Musk-on-the-brain!! My contracting work is going really, really well, so I buy my first shares in March 2018 @$256, vowing this individual stock will never exceed 10% of my portfolio.
Over the next year, I buy more shares, with "unfortunately" having the most free cash available when Elon tweets about going private. I'm bummed for months for buying "high" at $363, but of course those shares have quadrupled in a year. I sold 5% once to buy a fantastic electric-inspired artwork, but I've kept 95% of my shares and am glad to have broken my 10% rule - TSLA is now worth 33% of my portfolio and I could easily retire today.
Postscript: I picked up my red Model 3 in September 2018 and have completely loved it like no other possession I've ever owned. I did a
7,500 mile trip from Ottawa, through Texas, to Mexico, up to California and back in 3 weeks.
Be well.