Tesla Stock Soars to Record $420 a Share
Elon Musk: “Whoa… the stock is so high lol.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter to celebrate when his electric vehicle company’s stock an all-time high of $420 a share.
In an obvious reference to the number’s connection to cannabis culture, the multibillionaire tech magnate tweeted, “Whoa, the stock is so high lol.”
Whoa … the stock is so high lol
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 23, 2019
Joe Rogan, who proudly owns a Model S Performance and famously smoked weed with Musk on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast last year, also celebrated the financial feat, tweeting, “Congrats @elonmusk! #puffpuffpass.”
Tesla's stock just hit a record $420 – CNN Congrats @elonmusk! #puffpuffpass
https://t.co/jxrCMFSBfz— Joe Rogan (@joerogan) December 23, 2019
Tesla’s stock then climbed to $420.69, at which point Musk tweeted a screen grab of its market summary with the caption “stock art.”
stock art pic.twitter.com/HSWnwK68OV
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 23, 2019
These goofy tweets belie the significance of the stock’s current performance after a tumultuous year. Immediately following the unveiling of the radical Cybertruck—which included a botched demonstration of the all-electric pickup’s “bulletproof” glass—Tesla shares dropped by six percent.
Musk was also sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission last year for making “false and misleading statements” in the form a tweet that indicated he was considering taking Tesla from a privately traded to a publicly traded company at $420 a share.
CNN has further details:
At the time, the share price was $379.57 — nowhere near $420. Speculation about the identity of the mystery buyer was rife, and many investors thought Musk might be making a joke
A week after his tweet, Musk said Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund had approached him more than once about buying the company, but by the end of August 2018, he said, “I believe the better path is for Tesla to remain public,” following a meeting with the company’s board.
His tweets landed Musk in hot water with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as with investors.The SEC found Musk’s tweets had misled shareholders: He never actually secured the funding to take the company private.Musk paid the regulator $20 million in a settlement fee in October 2018, and he agreed to give up his position as chairman of the company.
On the day of the fateful tweet, the shares soared, closing up some 11% even after trading was halted for more than an hour. But they never approached $420, as shareholders remained skeptical Tesla could actually sell the company for $420 a share.
When the SEC raised an eyebrow on the next day, the stock slumped.
Despite Musk’s antics, Tesla’s stock is set to finish off 2019 up 27 percent and was still trading right around $420 at the time of publication. In addition to this year’s unveiling of the Cybertruck and eye-popping options like a “Cyberquad” electric ATV, camping and trailer configurations, Tesla just rolled out a Holiday 2019 update for models that are currently on the road.
Features include a new “Camp Mode” that allows users to control outdoor camping functions including airflow, temperature and interior lighting, as well as play music and power devices. According to Hype Beast, a slew of in-dashboard video games including Lost Backgammon and farm life RPG Stardew Valley are now playable when the car is parked.
The Holiday 2019 update also includes a “Full Self-Driving sneak preview,” which is actually a set of new “Driving Visualization Improvements.”
Per Electrek:
The driving visualization can now display additional objects that include stoplights, stop signs, and select road markings. The stop signs and stoplight visualizations are not a substitute for an attentive driver and will not stop the car. To see those additional objects in your driving visualization, tap Controls > Autopilot > Full Self Driving Visualization Preview.
Who knows what Tesla will bring the automotive world in 2020.
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