JT

BYD profits drop by more than half as Chinese sales slow ft.trib.al/bTbDXek

After holding for well over half a decade – and accumulating through dollar-cost averaging over the years – I have sold the vast majority of my 6k $TSLA shares in recent weeks. I purchased my first few shares after Model 3 was presented, as its possible impact was (almost) obvious. I'm still bullish on the company long term, but in the short to medium term I’ve lost confidence in meaningful upside. Even if Robotaxis were to scale tomorrow, much of that success is already priced in, given the sky-high P/E ratio. The potential downside now seems much larger, as we are running on fumes. Producing and selling cars appears to have become an afterthought, as Elon has bet everything on autonomy – which may well prove to be the right call in the long run. But as of now, I see too many indicators that the Robotaxi software simply isn’t ready. I don’t want to see piles of Cybercabs sitting on Tesla lots while the share price evaporates into thin air – and management stays traditionally mum. Optimus has yet to prove it's for real, and competitive. I'm tired of empty promises and dangling carrots. Risk-adjusted, TSLA is way too hot for me now. We’ve been through variations of this before, but it didn't fazed me as much because the trajectory was clear and I believed Elon had shareholders’ backs. That trust, however, has taken a major beating over the past few years. Elon’s shenanigans – selling Tesla stock on the open market to buy Twitter, funneling money to xAI while granting Tesla only a tiny stake at a sky-high valuation – are just two examples. Then there’s the apparent desire to merge @SpaceX with Tesla, for reasons that are certainly good for Elon, but doubtful for Tesla shareholders. Elon’s utter lack of enthusiasm on the recent earnings call sealed the deal for me. Trust is hard to gain and easy to lose. And even though I can’t fully articulate it, I’ve lost confidence in Elon’s willingness to make Tesla shareholders whole. Honorable mention to the ever-bullish $TSLA accounts on X, whose opinions are based on pure fantasy, utterly unmoored from market realities. These guys have blood on their hands, misleading retail investors, and they know it. Any pushback gets the standard response, “ok sell your shares then!” Alright. I hope this is temporary and things work out in the end anyway. I still hold a few hundred Tesla shares and will continue to do so for nostalgic reasons – maybe things will work out after all. I’m still rooting for the team, and I might buy in again later. I still love the cars, even though the model range, too, could use some attention. I’ll also continue to hold a few hundred shares in a family portfolio I manage. This might turn out to be a stupid call of epic proportions right before a wide Robotaxi launch – akin to selling Apple before it went parabolic – but at my age I want to sleep without too much worry. Over recent months, Tesla has given me more worry than pleasure, so it’s time to reallocate. Holding Tesla was fun when it felt like we were a band of visionary pirate underdogs, with Elon as our lead cheerleader. But something has changed. @elonmusk has new toys, and maybe we’re now part of the establishment – and anyway, there’s no need to be married to a stock. For what it’s worth, it’s been an interesting ride. And anyway, isn’t it all about the friends we made along the way? 🐟🐠🐡🦈🐠🐟