I took advantage of this, paid off some loans, credit card, etc. Then I decided, since I had once again destroyed my hope at retiring early, to make some individual investments, rather than depending on someone else to pick mutual funds for me.
I decided upon TESLA (TSLA). I started buying TSLA at $420 a share, way past the stock split, way too late to really benefit from the recent surge. I had (and still have) utter confidence that TSLA will blossom in 3-7 years. They don't make cars....they make energy. And cars.
The 'powerwall' is the most interesting to me. My company has a 'fire alarm' that tells us to shut down IMMEDIATELY (15 minutes), all unnecessary equipment, or face severe fines. (this in in the agreement that provides manufacturers energy at the very low cost of .06 cents per KW/hr). This gives our electrical provider time to fire up a 'peaker plant', running off natural gas (or highly polluting coal, in my area), to offset the sudden demand for electricity due to extreme heat/cold, or just people getting home from work and turning on the oven for dinner.
This battery bank system has performed incredibly well in Australia, and is seeing increased usage in other areas of the world as well. The UK has recently recognized TSLA as a power provider, and can be selected as an Electric company. This is based solely on individual home owners who own a TSLA vehicle, and have a powerwall, and solar panels (of any brand).
The point I am trying to make is this....Think of all the companies that rely on Fossil fuels, and their market share (Exxon, Mobil, British Petroleum etc). Now think of them being bankrupt in a few years by TSLA. And what that means to the growth of TSLA.
Despite the current VERY high price for TSLA shares, they still have much room to grow. I started investing in them 2 months ago, and bought $20k US at about $420 a share....then disaster struck. I transferred another $10k to Charles Schwab (from my 401k), it showed up, I invested, then my bank yanked back that last $10k, said I over-drew on my account. Schwab said I had to sell all my accumulated TSLA stock and start over (since I technically bought $10k worth on their dime). Reluctantly, I sold all $20K of my stock after it was announced TSLA would be added to the SP500.
I profited $2550 off of $20K, after only 5-6 weeks of ownership ( the remaining $10k was held 'hostage' until my account was unlocked). My account was frozen for a period of time.
![Sad :(](./images/smilies/icon_e_sad.gif)
But, on December the first, my account was un-frozen, and I bought 20 shares of TSLA (only $11,000, as I was timid to try a new strategy (my previous strategy was to buy and HOLD)). Today, the 3rd of DEC, I sold those stocks after only 48 hours of ownership, and profited $800. The stock price seems to fluctuate EVERY day, by at least $20.
My point? Get ballsy, and risk a bit of money you have set aside for retirement. The risk is great, but so is the reward. Be patient. If you get 'stuck' with some stocks, hopefully it will be short term. TSLA is here to stay (I hope).