Elon Musk Tweets 'Funding Secured' In 2018: How Much Would $1,000 In Tesla Stock Be Worth Now?

A controversial tweet by Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk is now the subject of a lawsuit. The tweet could have also been a starting point for investors with the potential take-private transaction or the belief that shares were undervalued at the current level at the time.

What Happened: In 2018, Musk tweeted he secured funding to take Tesla private at a price of $420. The price was around a 20% premium to what Tesla shares were previously traded at.

A trial is underway to determine if Musk had indeed secured funding or was only trying to boost the share price of Tesla.

Musk testified the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, was part of the funding for taking Tesla private.

The Tesla CEO also testified Alphabet Inc GOOGGOOGL had a standing interest to acquire Tesla at the time and that Alphabet’s interest in buying Tesla factored into his decision to line up funding for taking Tesla private.

Tesla ultimately did not go private and remained a public company. Here’s a look at how shares have performed since the famous tweet by Musk.

Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.

— Mr. Tweet (@elonmusk) August 7, 2018

Related Link: Tesla Q4 Earnings Highlights: Revenue And EPS Beat, Cybertruck And Crypto Holdings Updates And More 

Investing $1,000 in Tesla Stock: Shares of Tesla jumped on Musk’s tweet. After opening at $343.80, shares hit a high of $387.45 during the trading day on Aug. 7, 2018.

A $1,000 investment in Tesla at the highs of the day could have purchased 2.58 shares of TSLA.

Tesla had a five-for-one stock split in 2020 and a three-for-one stock split in 2022. The splits would have turned the 2.58 shares into 38.7 shares.

The $1,000 investment in Tesla at the time of Musk’s tweet would be worth $6,156.40 today based on a price of $159.08 for Tesla at the time of writing.

This represents a return of 515.6% since the time of the tweet. The hypothetical investment would have produced an average annual return of 114.6% over the last four and a half years.

While Tesla didn’t go private, investors who stuck around or bought in at the time of the tweet have been pleasantly rewarded with market-beating returns.

The same $1,000 investment at the intraday high on Aug. 7, 2018 would have cashed out at $1,083.60, or a gain of 8.4%, if the take-private deal closed at $420.

Read Next: Elon Musk Says Tesla Price Cuts Triggered Wave Of Demand, 2023 Sales Could Hit 2M Mark

Photo: Phanurak rubpol and Ken Wolter on Shutterstock