How to buy Tesla shares

Tesla, Inc (TSLA) is a leading auto manufacturers business with stocks listed in the US. It opened the day at 852 after a previous close of US$845. During the day the price has varied from a low of USD819.1 to a high of USD859.9. The latest price was USD826.16 (25 minute delay). Tesla is listed on the NASDAQ. All prices are listed in US Dollars.

How to buy shares in Tesla

1. Compare share trading platforms. To buy shares in a US company from Australia you'll need to find a trading platform that offers access to US stock markets. If you're just starting out, look for a platform with low brokerage and foreign exchange fees.
2. Open and fund your brokerage account. Complete an application with your personal and financial details, like your ID and tax file number. Fund your account with a bank transfer, credit card or debit card.
3. Search for Tesla. Find the share by name or ticker symbol: TSLA. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment against your financial goals.
4. Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until Tesla reaches your desired price. To spread out your risk, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying at consistent intervals and amounts.
5. Decide on how many to buy. At last close price of US$439.67, weigh your budget against a diversified portfolio that can minimise risk through the market's ups and downs. You may be able to buy a fractional share of Tesla, depending on your broker.
6. Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of Tesla. Optimise your portfolio by tracking how your stock — and even the business — performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights on directors and management that can affect your stock.

How has coronavirus impacted Tesla's share price?

Since the stock market crash in March caused by coronavirus, Tesla's share price has had significant negative movement.

Its last market close was US$439.67, which is 51.20% down on its pre-crash value of US$901 and 25.44% up on the lowest point reached during the March crash when the shares fell as low as US$350.51.

If you had bought US$1,000 worth of Tesla shares at the start of February 2020, those shares would have been worth US$555.89 at the bottom of the March crash, and if you held on to them, then as of the last market close they'd be worth US$562.78.

Tesla share price

Use our graph to track the performance of TSLA stocks over time.

Tesla shares at a glance

• Live prices
• Key figures

Information last updated 2021-01-15.

Open	US$852
High	US$859.9
Low	US$819.1
Close	US$826.16
Previous close	US$845
Change	US$-18.84
Change %	-2.23%
Volume	38,777,596

Information last updated 2021-01-12.

52-week range	US$70.102 - US$884.49
50-day moving average	US$654.1427
200-day moving average	US$443.5915
Target price	US$477.53
PE ratio	1642.8203
Dividend yield	N/A (0%)
Earnings per share (TTM)	US$0.523

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The value of your investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is no indication of future results.

Is it a good time to buy Tesla stock?

The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.

Technical Analysis of Tesla, Inc by TradingView

Tesla price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the close of $826.16 on 2020-10-16

1 week (2021-01-11)	1.85%
1 month (2020-12-18)	18.87%
3 months (2020-10-16)	87.90%
6 months (2020-07-17)	-44.95%

1 year (2020-01-17)	61.83%
2 years (2019-01-18)	173.33%
3 years (2018-01-18)	139.77%
5 years (2016-01-15)	303.02%

Is Tesla under- or over-valued?

Valuing Tesla stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of Tesla's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.

Tesla's P/E ratio

Tesla's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 1643x. In other words, Tesla shares trade at around 1643x recent earnings.

That's relatively high compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The high P/E ratio could mean that investors are optimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're over-valued.

Tesla's PEG ratio

Tesla's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 1.6445. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.

The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into Tesla's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

Tesla's EBITDA

Tesla's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is US$4 billion (£3 billion).

The EBITDA is a measure of a Tesla's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.

Tesla financials

Revenue TTM	US$28.2 billion
Operating margin TTM	6.12%
Gross profit TTM	US$4.1 billion
Return on assets TTM	2.74%
Return on equity TTM	5.59%
Profit margin	1.97%
Book value	16.91
Market capitalisation	US$814.4 billion

TTM: trailing 12 months

Shorting Tesla shares

There are currently 45.2 million Tesla shares held short by investors – that's known as Tesla's "short interest". This figure is 2.7% down from 46.5 million last month.

There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting Tesla shares can be evaluated.

Tesla's "short interest ratio" (SIR)

Tesla's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of Tesla shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of Tesla shares traded daily (recently around 51.4 million). Tesla's SIR currently stands at 0.88. In other words for every 100,000 Tesla shares traded daily on the market, roughly 880 shares are currently held short.

However Tesla's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of Tesla shares, or, against the total number of tradable Tesla shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case Tesla's short interest could be expressed as 0.05% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 Tesla shares in existence, roughly 50 shares are currently held short) or 0.0595% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable Tesla shares, roughly 60 shares are currently held short).

Such a low SIR usually points to an optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against Tesla.

Find out more about how you can short Tesla stock.

Tesla's environmental, social and governance track record

Environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) criteria are a set of three factors used to measure the sustainability and social impact of companies like Tesla.

When it comes to ESG scores, lower is better, and lower scores are generally associated with lower risk for would-be investors.

Tesla's total ESG risk score

Total ESG risk: 27.59

Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and Tesla's overall score of 27.59 (as at 01/01/2019) is pretty weak – landing it in it in the 61st percentile of companies rated in the same sector.

ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like Tesla is exposed to within the areas of "environmental" (carbon footprint, resource use etc.), "social" (health and safety, human rights etc.), and "governance" (anti-corruption, tax transparency etc.).

Tesla's environmental score

Environmental score: 1.25/100

Tesla's environmental score of 1.25 puts it squarely in the 1st percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Tesla is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

Tesla's social score

Social score: 17.81/100

Tesla's social score of 17.81 puts it squarely in the 1st percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Tesla is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.

Tesla's governance score

Governance score: 10.53/100

Tesla's governance score puts it squarely in the 1st percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that Tesla is a leader in its sector when it comes to responsible management and strategy, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

Tesla's controversy score

Controversy score: 3/5

ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. Tesla scored a 3 out of 5 for controversy – a middle-of-the-table result reflecting that Tesla hasn't always managed to keep its nose clean.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary

Tesla, Inc was last rated for ESG on: 2019-01-01.

Total ESG score	27.59
Total ESG percentile	60.92
Environmental score	1.25
Environmental score percentile	1
Social score	17.81
Social score percentile	1
Governance score	10.53
Governance score percentile	1
Level of controversy	3

Tesla share dividends

We're not expecting Tesla to pay a dividend over the next 12 months.

Have Tesla's shares ever split?

Tesla's shares were split on a 5:1 basis on 31 August 2020. So if you had owned 1 share the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 5 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your Tesla shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 80% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for Tesla shares which in turn could have impacted Tesla's share price.

Tesla share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, Tesla's shares have ranged in value from as little as US$70.102 up to US$884.49. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NASDAQ average) beta is 1, while Tesla's is 2.1907. This would suggest that Tesla's shares are significantly more volatile than the average for this exchange and represent a higher risk.

Tesla overview

Tesla, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, leases, and sells electric vehicles, and energy generation and storage systems in the United States, China, Netherlands, Norway, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Automotive; and Energy Generation and Storage. The Automotive segment offers sedans and sport utility vehicles. It also provides electric powertrain components and systems; and services for electric vehicles through its company-owned service locations, and Tesla mobile service technicians, as well as sells used vehicles. This segment markets and sells its products through a network of company-owned stores and galleries, as well as through its own Website. The Energy Generation and Storage segment offers energy storage products, such as rechargeable lithium-ion battery systems for use in homes, industrial, commercial facilities, and utility grids; and designs, manufactures, installs, maintains, leases, and sells solar energy generation and energy storage products to residential and commercial customers. It also provides vehicle insurance services, as well as renewable energy. The company was formerly known as Tesla Motors, Inc. and changed its name to Tesla, Inc. in February 2017. Tesla, Inc. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.

Frequently asked questions

• What percentage of Tesla is owned by insiders or institutions?

  Currently 19.985% of Tesla shares are held by insiders and 42.529% by institutions.

• When does the fiscal year end for Tesla?

  Tesla's fiscal year ends in December.

• Where is Tesla based?

  Tesla's address is: 3500 Deer Creek Road, Palo Alto, CA, United States, 94304

• What is Tesla's ISIN number?

  Tesla's international securities identification number is: US88160R1014

• What is Tesla's CUSIP number?

  Tesla's Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures number is: 88160R101