Tesla Stock Approaches Its High Mark - Time To Sell?

As the fiscal year ends for many Americans, savvy stock holders evaluate their portfolio with an eye towards locking in gains. If you own a stock, be it Tesla or any stock, there is only one way to make a profit on that stock - sell it at a higher price than you paid for it. Unlike property, cash, or other items with intrinsic value, stock in a company is only worth its current trading value. If the company has a problem, and Tesla has encountered many in its years as a public company, your gains can be wiped away in a single day.

At the close of trading today, Tesla stock was valued at, $378.91. During the trading day, the stock value had been as high as $383.23. That value is the highest the stock has ever been. It has been as low as $185 as recently as May of this year. If you bought then, your stock would have more than doubled in price in just seven months. If you had invested $40K, you could cash out now and buy a Model 3 and still keep your investment.

Of course, nobody should ever make a trade based on advice from an opinion story found in an online publication. There are tax considerations to discuss with your preparer. There is also the question of where to park your investment money if you do cash out of Tesla or sell part of your holdings. We suggest not investing in stocks at all, but if you do, please don't take your sell cues from us!

It must be tempting though to sell a stock that has been so volatile at its peak of value. If you own Tesla stock, tell us your plan given the stock's recent run up to its highest valuation.

Note: The author owns no individual stocks and is not a stock market analyst.

John Goreham is a life-long car nut and recovering engineer. John's focus areas are technology, safety, and green vehicles. In the 1990s, he was part of a team that built a solar-electric vehicle from scratch. His was the role of battery thermal control designer. For 20 years he applied his engineering and sales talents in the high tech world and published numerous articles in technical journals such as Chemical Processing Magazine. In 2008 he retired from that career and dedicated himself to chasing his dream of being an auto writer. In addition to Torque News, John's work has appeared in print in dozens of American newspapers and he provides reviews to many vehicle shopping sites. You can follow John on Twitter, and connect with him at Linkedin.