Ironic that I’m quoting AC/DC to share yet another Tesla story. In fact, I’m getting pretty tired of Tesla stories. At least I thought I was, but then I learned of Jason DeBolt.
Imagine having your life savings all ride on one stock. Crazy enough. Imagine being right and watching an initial investment of $19,000 in 2013 grow to over $10,000,000 today. Who would continue to let it ride? Jason DeBolt, that’s who.
This week Jason was interviewed by Ramp Capital and it left me speechless. The article, “The Tesla Millionaire Who Refuses To Cash His Lottery Ticket” not only gave us a look inside Jason’s thought process, but asked many of the questions I had when I first learned of his story on Twitter. I didn't think he was real or maybe his story was highly exaggerated. It wasn’t.
In the article you can truly grasp his love for the product and its future prospects. When asked if it’s a bubble, he is quick to share his vision of all the great things yet to come. He knows what he has invested in, is passionate about it and rationally explains why the future is so bright.
He’s also heard the criticism. He’s open about people telling him to diversify. Meanwhile he has yet to do so. Maybe it’s easier because Jason doesn’t have a family to worry about. As a father of three, I know I couldn’t go all-in and stay all-in after that success. I would have to spread things out and play it safer. (In fact, that’s another entirely important angle. Nick Maggiulli wrote a great piece Just Take The Money that takes a deeper dive discussing just that issue. I highly recommend it.)
Some say it’s just downright insanity to continue to stay all-in with this trade. I also know there are people rooting for him to blow up so they could say I told you so. I am not one of them. The reason I’m writing this is to express my awe at Jason’s resolve. As someone that has almost vomited on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange after suffering a 6 figure loss in a day, I don’t know how he does it.
The pain of a bad day in the market can crush one’s psyche. It can make you question your process or give up altogether. On Monday Jason’s loss in $TSLA was over $1million. I almost puked for him when I saw it.
If I suffered a day like this it would make me rethink everything. Not only does he have a strong vision for Tesla’s future, but a stomach of steel. Kudos to him for sharing the ups and the downs. I appreciate it and enjoyed the stories written. In my career, I have never met anyone that could handle the enormity of what he is doing. I wish you well and raise a hearty glass of Pepto in your honor.
One addendum.. If Jason had bought any one of the FAANG stocks in 2013 instead of TSLA it wouldn’t have been close to the payout. In fact, if he bought all five ($FB, $AAPL, $AMZN, $NFLX, GOOGL) plus $MSFT, he still wouldn't have returned as much as he did by just owning $TSLA.
You can follow Jason on Twitter here. You can subscribe to Ramp Capital’s newsletter here
Who's Got Big Balls...
The truly amazing part of the story is to be able to hold and not sell. A bit after TSLA came public, I took a flyer on 400 shares bought at $35 (this is before splits). Unfortunately, I listened to the "experts" that said electric cars were a fad, and Fisker (the first time around) had gone bankrupt and Tesla would soon also.
I was happy to sell for a small gain eventually and somehow never had the "balls" to get back in. I have stopped calculating how much it would have been worth if I still holding lest I get the urge to puke. But realize, the lion's share of the huge outsized gains for Tesla only occurred since mid 2020 ($300 to $4200 approximately post split as of mid-january, 2021). So if investing is a long game, then only time will tell where the price is in let's say another 10 years from now? I am looking for the next Tesla, and this time I hope to hold at least a 100 shares.
Best story