My Journey with Tesla: From Recognition to Investment

In 2019, I worked at a web hosting company in Wilsonville, Oregon. I started in the spring, and by fall, I vividly remember seeing Tesla cars appearing everywhere. It was the first time I considered Tesla a significant company in my worldview.

Fast forward to 2020, just days before the COVID lockdowns, I relocated to a studio apartment in Lake Oswego, Oregon. During the lockdown, I decided to educate myself about investing through YouTube. I began following finance YouTubers like Meet Kevin, who not only owned a Tesla but frequently discussed investing in companies like Tesla.

I was part of the new wave of retail investors in 2020 when I received a $1,000 stimulus check from the federal government. So, what did I do with the money? I put it into the stock market. Like many new investors, I was overwhelmed by Tesla's recent stock surge and felt I had missed the boat. Nonetheless, I started investing in other stocks, including ARK ETFs.

Eventually, I fell into the same trap as many other investors and decided to invest in the next big EV company, which for me was the Chinese automaker NIO. While researching NIO, I discovered Steven Mark Ryan's Solving the Money Problem YouTube channel. His videos convinced me that no other EV company was remotely close to Tesla.

Living in Lake Oswego, one of the wealthiest communities in Oregon, also influenced my decision to invest. As the state lifted COVID-19 restrictions, I noticed an increasing number of cars on the road, and it seemed like every day I saw 10 to 20 Teslas.

In April 2021, I purchased my first fractional shares of Tesla at $724 per share ($241 post-split). Since then, I've consistently been dollar-cost averaging into the stock.