Where are the Tesla (TSLA) sellers? What happened to them? They were there every day for ages. Every point.
Suddenly they are gone.
The stock opens higher each morning like clockwork and it has no resistance.
What happened?
First, earnings.
That's right, there are now real projections and they are spectacular: $5 next year and then $10 in 2021. These are consensus estimates. They are vetted and they actually may happen. That means it is a heck of a lot better than Ford (F) and GM (GM) when it comes to growth and growth is really all that matters when it comes to vehicles because no one else has it. No one.
Second, ingenuity: So many auto companies were supposed to have real competitive products in the market, genuine, well-engineered products with real cache, especially the Germans. Looks like they are a lot harder to make than people thought. The competition isn't there.
Third: Musk himself has gone from someone who seemed chronically on the verge of some sort of nervous breakdown or egomaniacal high that he became his own worst enemy. We don't know if he's gotten his life together, I sure hope he has, and maybe he even believes it is together and it isn't. The fact is it doesn't matter. He's no longer teasing the SEC. He's no longer trashing the analysts. He's just like all other CEOs with the rare exception of the departing John Legere from T-Mobile (TMUS) . He runs a good, thorough conference call, gives an occasional speech and is otherwise, I never thought I would say this, not controversial. That makes him easy to get behind.
Fourth: If you have earnings estimates it's pretty easy to raise enough money to make or do whatever you want. For years I heard that Tesla could never make a profit. Then I heard that if they make a profit it's all made up, using subsidies and bogus accounting.
Fifth: Now I hear nothing. And if Tesla is going to make even half of what the analysts say it would be no problem to raise $5 billion at reasonable rates if needed.
Sixth: He really was able to build a gigantic factory in 10 months. As someone who has been involved in building even the smallest of factories that's astounding. That's better than Intel (INTC) , which I always regarded as the single greatest manufacturer we have in this country and they can't build them fasted than 18 months. I know some of you think that might not be a good comparison but you need to know that Intel had long been considered the gold standard when it came to greenfield factory build outs.
Seventh: The solar panel deal which seemed so dilutive is now becoming an asset not a liability as Musk has somehow been able to reduce the price of the product to where the payback is pretty immediate and the competition yields nothing.
Eighth: The cars have only improved with each iteration. They still have tremendous pizazz even when a rock gets thrown through a window of a cyber truck that's supposed to be unbreakable. Millennials love them.
Ninth: Charging stations are now ubiquitous and easily found via the web.
Tenth: It turns out that many of the sellers were short sellers, not long sellers. They have disappeared or are covering - they are the ones who buy before the market opens - because it's a hard borrow without a real thesis.
I can't own stocks. Tesla's not for a charitable trust. But I have liked it ever since the rock went through the window and I like it just as much today even as it's having a monumental move. No level, no level seems to bring out sellers.
It's a phenomenon. One that's rarely seen and one that's incredible to behold.
