$1,000, 5 Years Later: How Much Would Tesla Stock Be Worth?

Investors who have owned stocks since 2016 generally have experienced some big gains. In fact, the SPDR S&P 500 SPY total return in the past five years is 122.3%. But there is no question some big-name stocks performed better than others along the way.

Tesla’s Huge Run: One company that has been a home run investment in the past five years is electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc TSLA. Tesla investors that bought back in 2016 and held on through some extremely challenging times have gotten a massive payoff in the past couple of years.

See also: How to Invest in Tesla Stock

Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk have gained a cult following of investors and supporters, and the company's valuation has exploded to more than $833 billion.

The past five years have been a bumpy ride for Tesla, including a number of missed deadlines and production targets, inconsistent profitability and even an SEC fraud settlement by Musk. But Tesla investors continue to believe in the company’s long-term disruptive potential, and the share price keeps rising.

At the beginning of 2016, Tesla shares were trading at around $220. The stock hit its low point of the past five years at $141.05 in early 2016 following two high-profile Wall Street downgrades from Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.

The stock bounced back to new all-time highs above $300 per share by mid-2017. Throughout most of 2017, 2018 and 2019, Tesla shares traded mostly sideways in a wide range between about $180 and $390.

In August 2018, Musk made his infamous tweet: “Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.” At the time, Tesla shares were trading at around $380.

Tesla shares took off like a rocket in 2019, partly due to the company meeting the eligibility requirements to join the S&P 500 and partly because of a large short squeeze in the heavily shorted stock. Tesla made it as high as $2,318 in late 2020 before a five-to-one stock split dropped shares back down to as low as $329.88.

Related Link: Tesla And 9 Other Stocks That Burned Short Sellers The Most In 2020

Tesla In 2021, Beyond: Tesla was completely unphased by the COVID-19 pandemic sell-off, and its late-2020 addition to the S&P 500 once again pushed the stock to new all-time highs of $900.40 in early 2021. That price corresponds to $4,502 on a pre-split basis.

Tesla investors that bought and held on through a volatile five-year period turned a massive profit. In fact, $1,000 worth of Tesla stock bought in 2016 would be worth about $22,700 today.
Looking ahead, analysts are expecting a long-awaited correction in Tesla in the next 12 months. The average price target among the 34 analysts covering the stock is $512.50, suggesting 42% downside from current levels.

(Photo: Tesla)