How Can I Buy Tesla Stocks? [Compelte Guide]

Like most investors, you have probably considered investing in Tesla because of its promising value. Tesla stock is at an all-time high with a $1 trillion market cap.

Most investors are caught up making a choice between Amazon, Tesla, Alphabet, and Shopify. However, Tesla seems to be in a league of its own.

How to Buy Tesla Stock

Tesla trades on the NASDAQ under the symbol TSLA. It is a publicly-traded, publicly listed stock. This means there are no restrictions on buying stocks.

For example, you don’t have to be an accredited investor or use a private market. This means you can buy Tesla stock through publicly available brokerages.

Choose a Brokerage

To buy TSLA, you will need an account with a brokerage. These days, most brokerages are available through an investment app.

Note that fees and account minimums will vary based on the platform. Make sure to do your research before you sign up for these accounts.

In addition to helping you purchase Tesla stocks, online brokerages also offer various services. They provide a wealth of research, account types, and educational materials. These resources will help you make the most of your investment.

The type of account depends on your goals. Your goals could vary from retirement to saving for a child’s education. You should go for a tax-advantaged account such as individual retirement account for long-term goals.

For investing in stocks to buy a home, use a taxable brokerage account.

The fees and investment options vary from one broker to another. Make sure to compare multiple brokerages to find the right one for you. Top options include Marcus by Goldman Sachs and Vanguard by Digital Advisor.

Below is a top list of our favorite brokers.

Read Why a Tesla Car is So Expensive

Stash

Stash comes with an intuitive dashboard that simplifies investments for beginners. Moreover, the app is designed for beginners who don’t have a lot of capital available.

Investors can open an account for as low as $1 per month. The premium account, with more features, costs about $9 per month.

Users don’t have to make any deposits. However, Stash will match a deposit of $5, giving you an extra $5 to spend.

Another advantage of using Stash is their retirement account for only $3 per month. Users can also opt for Stash+ for $9 per month. It comes with investment accounts for two children, insurance, double stock rewards, and other features.

The best thing about Stash is that you can purchase fractional shares. This is useful for buying Tesla stock. If you think Tesla is expensive at $998, you can buy fractional shares.

You can also use Stash to buy other stocks and EFTs. Note that Stash will not provide any advice and does not come with a robo-advisor.

M1 Finance

M1 Finance is designed for beginners because of its robo-advisor. It’s aimed at long-term investors who want to diversify their portfolios without breaking the bank.

While users won’t get access to a financial advisor, they can set their own goals. This allows them to build a customized portfolio through a simple yet intuitive dashboard.

The best part is that a pie chart represents the user’s portfolio. This provides a visual breakdown of one’s assets without complicating anything.

Users can also choose from default portfolios depending on their risk tolerance levels. Creating custom pies for Tesla stock is possible by choosing different investment instruments. These include ETFs, mutual funds, and stocks.

Also, M1 Finance lets you buy fractional shares. This is useful for Tesla stocks.

How to get started with Tesla stocks
Investing in Tesla stocks

Read How Many Batteries Are in a Tesla Electric Car?

How Much Are You Willing to Invest?

Even Elon Musk doesn’t have unlimited money to buy Tesla stock. When deciding how much to invest in Tesla, ask yourself the following questions:

What’s my budget?

Tesla stock is not cheap and is about to hit $1,000. You should compare your savings left over each month with your disposable income.

Don’t put all of that into stocks. Invest some of that into your emergency funds and create a retirement account. The rest can be used for investments.

What is the Current Price of TSLA Stock?

Tesla’s stock value is always changing, but it has increased by several hundred dollars. If you are just starting out, we don’t recommend purchasing a whole stock yet. Instead, you may be better off buying a portion of the share.

This is known as a fractional share. You can buy fractional shares of TSLA and others with Robinhood and Stash.

What is Your Strategy for Tesla Investments?

Once you’re ready to invest, you can invest all your savings at once. You could also invest gradually over a longer period. This method is known as dollar-cost averaging.

It’s when you buy fixed dollar amounts of stock – regardless of the stock’s price. This lowers your risk, and you pay less per share in the long run.

What About Other Investments?

You should consider how TSLA will affect your overall portfolio. Tesla is a large-cap stock, so investors should diversify their portfolio with varied stocks.

Read What Companies Benefit from Electric Cars?

Consider Your Investment Goals

Before buying Tesla stocks, it is worth planning your investment goals.

Investing will always represent a layer of risk. Buying a large number of single shares from any company can be very risky. Tesla stock has been very volatile in the past.

Moreover, it is affected by a range of external factors. Although its past performance isn’t an indication of the future, you should expect some volatility.

Tesla is well suited to individuals with moderate or high-risk tolerance. As a leader in their industry, and represents a good case for long-term investment.

Read How to Put Tesla in Neutral?

Where Are Tesla Stocks Headed?

While it’s impossible to determine the future of Tesla stocks, some things are known.

As of December 31, 2021, Tesla had $17.707 billion on hand. Tesla products and services are increasingly popular. Their customers are also very loyal. So the company’s profile is looking very promising.

But there are always risks and Elon has complained about the price of lithium. The shortage of chips used in Tesla cars could also cause concern. The company’s performance has been affected by supply chain disruptions and chip shortages.

Most companies state their expectations for their performance by announcing the results for previous quarters.

Another way to gauge Tesla’s performance is by looking at what analysts are saying. According to Yahoo, TSLA has 8 Hold, 4 Strong Buy, and 1 Sell.

Very few analysts consider the stock to be an underperformer. Moreover, at the time of writing, TSLA stock is trading at $998.78.

Is Tesla a Good Buy Now?

Tesla has performed well historically and analysts agree that it is worth a buy. But TSLA stocks can be volatile. You should look at the overall context of the market before buying Tesla stocks. 

More specifically, Tesla stocks seem to be driven by public opinion on Elon Musk. Pay attention to Twitter and Elon Musk’s interactions with the public. Any major controversy with Elon could tank the stock’s value.

If your investments already include stocks like Amazon, Apple, and Google, you might want to reconsider. The goal of any stock portfolio is to diversify investments.

Don’t want to invest in individual stocks to minimize your risks? Consider opening a mutual funds account or exchange-traded fund with Tesla in its portfolio.

Mutual funds contain a bundle of securities from different businesses. This diversification makes them a safer investment than individual stocks.

Read How To Afford a Tesla Electric Car

Study Tesla’s Financial Health

It is exciting to buy shares of a big company like Tesla. However, you should take a moment for due diligence.

Publicly traded businesses like Tesla file annual and quarterly reports. These reports provide detailed information related to performance and finances. They are often referred to as quarterly earnings by the press.

You can download them from Tesla’s website or by looking up their SEC profile. You can also refer to insights from expert analysts on Yahoo and Forbes. You can use all the knowledge to decide what aligns with your goals.

Decide The Order Type for TESLA Stocks

Visit your brokerage app and look up TSLA to reveal their current prices. You may also want to use advanced order types such as limit or stop orders. This will ensure you only purchase once the stock price falls under a threshold.

TSLA is listed on the NASDAQ exchange. This means you can trade stocks between 1:30 AM to 4:00 PM. You can also buy from Monday through Friday.

It is worth noting that NASDAQ’s pre-market trading hours are 4:00 AM to 9:30 PM. After-hours trading runs from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM ET.

Any orders placed outside the hours your brokerage allows will be processed once trading resumes.

Selling Tesla Stocks

You probably don’t want to hold onto TSLA stocks forever. That would defeat the purpose of owning stocks. There will come a time when you want to cash out for a big ROI.

Selling your TSLA stocks is easy enough.

  • Visit the online brokerage app.
  • Enter the number of shares you want to sell
  • Select a sell order type
  • Confirm… and you’re done

Note that if you see a profit on your taxes, you might owe taxes. These are known as capital gain taxes. They are determined based on various factors. These include the length of time you held the stocks and your current income level.

Consult a tax professional if selling your TSLA stocks will affect your taxes.

Read How Much To Wrap Tesla Model 3

Advantages of Owning Tesla Stock

Proponents of Tesla shares believe that the tech giant has a rosy outlook. Here are some of the reasons why Tesla stock may be good for you.

Strong Leadership

Public opinion on Elon Musk is very strong. This will have a reflection on how Tesla stocks will perform. Musk leverages cloud computing and AI and maintains a responsible corporate culture.

He is defined as a visionary and has outlandish goals for his company. Elon may have failed on many fronts, but he has done many things right.

Watch out if Elon lands in a serious controversy or steps down as CEO. These changes will negatively affect the value of Tesla stocks.

Tesla has no Signs of Slowing Down

The biggest reason why Tesla is doing better than its competition is the supply chain. They source lithium from China’s Ganfeng Lithium Co. It is the world’s largest producer of battery-grade lithium.

They signed a three-year partnership in 2021.

Tesla continues to stay ahead of its competitors by securing important supply chains. They are constantly innovating and built a formidable lineup of EV offerings.

Tesla, and Elon himself, have a history of adapting and should never be counted out. Especially when Elon, a forward-thinking CEO, sits at the helm of the company.

Autonomous Driving

Tesla is leading the self-driving car trend. Elon Musk is single-handedly responsible for changing the dynamics of the automobile market.

More importantly, the company’s autonomous driving software is the major reason for its rosy outlook.

Although autonomous driving is still in a nascent stage, it will become huge. And Tesla has maintained a significant lead over its competition.

Tesla Demand is Rising

The main reason Tesla’s stock is climbing so rapidly is the sheer demand. This wasn’t always the case, though.

The company used to struggle with liquidity – but things have changed. They are continuing to turn profits every year. They are expecting to post profits in 2022.

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Wrapping Up

If you are looking for stocks that will grow, Tesla is an excellent choice. Online brokerage apps like M1 Finance make it easy to start on low capital.

Word of caution: only invest what you are willing to lose. Investing in Tesla stocks will have its ups and downs. You will need an appetite for loss and risks.

Stock prices often come crashing down or soar at the whims of Elon and his tweets. Tesla stocks could very well be the next gold rush. Tesla stocks are very volatile – but they have proven to be profitable. Identify your goals and risks before getting started.