Tesla is regarded as one of the most visionary and innovative tech companies of our time. Here’s everything you need to know about TSLA, including company history, stock splits, trading information, and more. Tesla was founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. Initially, the company was known as Tesla Motors, and struggled to find its footing. Shortly after, in 2004, Elon Musk became a major investor in the company, and took on the role of Chairman of the Board. Musk’s involvement would later prove instrumental in Tesla’s ascension to its position as the world’s largest automaker.
While Musk did not involve himself directly in the day-to-day operations of Tesla, he was later acknowledged to be the one behind several important decisions – such as insisting on a carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer body and leading the designs of important components such as the power electronics module, headlamps and other styling.
Also, Musk is credited with setting the start-up’s long-term strategy of creating affordable mass-market electric vehicles – first by starting with premium sports cars aimed at early adopters and then moving into more affordable vehicles such as sedans and compacts, aimed at mainstream drivers. After a series of contentious board and personnel changes, Musk took over as CEO of Tesla in 2008. Two years later, Tesla went public via an Initial Public Offering (IPO). TSLA hit the public markets at USD 17 – higher than the initial offer price of USD 14 to USD 16, highlighting the high levels of enthusiasm around the company even in the early stages.
However, while Tesla captured the hearts and minds of believers, early investors would have to wait till 2020 onwards to see any convincing returns.
Tesla had begun delivering its Model X in 2015, followed by forays into clean energy production and storage, deeper investment into automation, and the launch of a new model. It also rebranded in 2017 to Tesla (dropping “Motors” from its previous name), reflecting its expanded ambitions. However, these events did not engender notable stock price action. It wasn’t until the company began production in its Shanghai factory in 2019, which helped the company deliver nearly 500,000 vehicles by December 2020, did holders of TSLA see some excitement. This milestone – coupled with the company achieving its fourth profitable quarter in a row, and its subsequent addition to the S&P 500 – drove stock prices upwards with rocket-like momentum from that point onwards, charting huge spikes on the charts that made the stock price look like a flat line prior to 2020. In Jan 2022, Tesla’s valuation reached USD 1.2 trillion.
Business segments
Tesla might be best known for its fully-electric consumer vehicles, but that’s not the only business segment it participates in. The company also deals in energy generation and energy storage products, starting with the 2015 launch of the Powerwall and Powerpack – giant rechargeable batteries for home and commercial use, and the acquisition of solar-power firm, SolarCity, in 2016.
Back to its main business segment, Tesla has, to date, launched a total of four car models: Model S, Model 3, Model X and Model Y. It has also launched a Semi Truck and its smaller cousin, the retro-futuristic Cybertruck, which are both slated to go into production later in 2023.
With an aim of disrupting the legacy automotive industry, Tesla’s main rivals naturally include established automakers such as Ford and General Motors. However, it also has to watch out for competition from newer, fast-growing electric vehicle makers like Lucid Group Inc. and China-based NIO Inc. In 2021, Tesla moved its headquarters to Austin, Texas, from its long-time home in Palo Alto, California. It currently employs a total staff strength of over 99,000.
TSLA trading information
- Primary exchange: NASDAQ
- Ticker: TSLA
- Country: U.S.
- Currency: USD
- Trading hours: Main: 9.30am to 4pm ET, Mon to Fri, Pre-market: 4am to 9.30am, After-market: 4pm to 8pm
When was TSLA listed?
TSLA was first listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market on 29 Jun 2010, eight years after its founding. The stock was launched to the public at USD 17. After accounting for stock splits, the IPO share price was USD 1.13. At the time of writing, the price of one TSLA share is USD 189.98, representing a return of 168x. The stock’s highest price was seen on 4 Nov 2021, when it closed the day at USD 409.97.
Stock splits
TSLA has undergone two stock splits since it started trading; a 5-for-1 stock split in 2020, and a further 3-for-1 split in 2022. The primary reason was to keep stock prices low, ensuring TSLA remains accessible for more retail investors. The total number of TSLA stocks outstanding is estimated to be 3.16 billion.
Dividends: TSLA does not pay out any dividends.
Latest developments investors should note
Q4 2022 results beat analysts’ expectations. For the quarter ended 31 Dec 2022, Tesla performed better than expected. The electric vehicle manufacturer posted earnings-per-share of USD 1.19 (vs USD 1.13 expected) while total revenue came in at USD 24.32 billion (vs USD 23.16 billion expected). When compared year-on-year, the company’s Q4 revenue outstripped the previous year’s USD 17.72 billion by USD 6.6 billion – representing an increase of 37.2%. As expected, the bulk of the quarter’s revenue came from the company’s automotive division, which saw a 33% increase year-over-year to USD 21.3 billion. Q4 also saw Tesla enjoying its highest-ever quarterly revenue, operating income and net income.
The strong last quarter helped the company achieve a record-breaking 2022; total revenue for the year grew 51% year-on-year to USD 81.5 billion, and net income more than doubled year-on-year to USD 12.6 billion. Tesla attributed its revenue growth to lower its car prices – a decision taken due to the need for affordability in order for the company to sell multiple millions of cars annually. This has evidently sparked demand.
“Thus far in January we’ve seen the strongest orders year-to-date than ever in our history. We’re currently seeing orders of almost twice the rate of production,” commented Musk.
Multiple recalls in 2022
Tesla has made several rounds of vehicular recalls in 2022, involving various issues that could potentially pose a safety hazard. In April, Tesla recalled nearly 600,000 cars [14]. This was due to the Boombox function, which allowed sounds to be played through an external speaker while the vehicle was in motion. This posed a safety hazard, as the sounds from the Boombox function could potentially drown out critical warning sounds from the Pedestrian Warning System.
The recall affected certain 2020-2022 Model Y, Model X, Model S, and 2017-2022 Model 3 vehicles. Earlier in February, a larger-scale recall was enacted, this time affecting over 800,000 vehicles.
The cause of the recall was that the audible chime may not activate when the vehicle starts and the driver has not buckled their seat belt, putting the vehicle in breach of prevailing safety requirements. This recall affected certain 2021-2022 Model S and Model X, 2017-2022 Model 3, and 2020-2022 Model Y vehicles.
