My Tesla Is Finally Here

I remember back when I was a teenager in the 1980's seeing an electric car on TV, and thinking that it would be the greatest invention ever! It seems so far-fetched and too space-aged to ever be real. Since then, every time I see news about another electric car, I got intrigued, looked it up, and imagined the possibility of getting one. But they were either not regulated for Canada, or the range was so short and battery charging was so slow, it would be a major sacrifice to make it work without another car that used gas.

Then along came Tesla. Seriously! I never thought for a minute I would see a "real" electric car in my lifetime, let along own one. But here I am, almost 3 years after placing my reservation. I am going to own a brand-spanking new Tesla Model 3!

I've been following Tesla since late 2015, completely fascinated by the company, and thinking that I will finally make my teenage dream come true. I just HAD to make it happen. My teenage self would never forgive me if I didn't try.

The most expensive car I ever purchased was my current Honda Civic at $18.5K (including taxes). How in the world would I EVER be able to afford a car like this? I took one more music gigs outside of my regular job. I penny-pinched when I could, putting whatever money I could spare into a savings account every month. I worked out the monthly payments, and tried to be as realistic as possible. Yes, I could save on gas and use that towards my monthly payment, but my insurance would be higher, and maintenance costs are less, sure... but not nothing!

Well, I placed my order on Sunday, January 6th, and now I'm just waiting.

I told the Tesla Advisor that it would be so cool if I got it in time for my birthday on January 31st. Next thing I know, I get an email almost right away that my delivery day has been set for that day! Now they just have to work at matching me with my car. How cool is that?

I've learned so much about the car that I feel like I know it already. I just want to experience it now!

Stay tuned. It's going to be a great birthday this year!!

Something's Off about Citron's Shorting of $TSLA

I saw lots of buzz around this tweet yesterday:

After watching $TSLA stock go up for the last couple of weeks, it suddenly had a downturn yesterday. Well, not significant enough to cause any panic, but it did go down. And it returned back on the upswing again today. So much for trying to influence the market, Citron. One day of slight-but-not-so-much panic.

The thing is, Citron seems to be betting their short stocks on the fact that Tesla has had a problem supplying their demand in the past. I mean, it's possible that Tesla Motors may have some delays initially filling orders for the Model III when it comes time to ship (a lot is riding on their new gigawatt factories), and it wouldn't surprise me if there was a delay. But that's looking beyond this year.

While the Model III continues in development for now, this year, Tesla factories are focused on pumping out more Model S's and X's, and is increasing their output. Their aim is to once again double their production in the coming year. But even if they fall slightly short of that goal, there's no doubt that they WILL grow. The issue of the falcon doors on the Model X seem to settled now that they have gone with a different supplier. And the X's have started to show up at the buyers' doors. Whatever supply problem they had, they seemed to have weathered most of that storm and are back on track.

As for the Model III, there's no demand to fill yet. They don't go into production until late 2017, far after Citron's projection of a minus-$100 loss on each share. Maybe Citron's projection has merit for next year. But for this year, they are blowing their whistle way, WAY too early. I think they will be in for a big surprise.

I think Tesla stock owners know there'll be a ramp up in price leading to the Model III unveiling on March 31st. If Citron's trying to kill, or at least dampen, that upward trend, they are going to be in a losing battle this month. While $TSLA stock prices might go through a bit of a roller coaster after the announcement, I expect it to equalize shortly thereafter and return to its course upward.

Stock trading is a game, and we're trying to figure out who is reading it right. I'm not convinced yet that Citron has got it right. But what do I know, right? It's not like I'm an experienced trader. I'm just trying to do my homework and rooting for Tesla Motors to make a difference. So good luck, Citron. But for the sake of the future of sustainable transport, I hope it's not good...