There is no actual data behind the price of Tesla stock, people are bidding on potential! So buy, Mortimer, buy!!” TSLA at 300? Oh yeah baby, what a bargain, just let me lever up for about 2 mil and let that bull out of the chute! Sorry kids, I’m not going to be the one holding the bag when Elon decides to dump his shares and bails off to do Space X full time. I took my ride on TSLA from 26 to 159 and don’t regret bailing out when I did, I’m surprised I managed to hang on that long. You have to be on some serious drugs to think “ok, I’ve made 600% in like 5 months but I’m sure there is lots more room to run”. Although… The guy has an electric car company, a battery factory, a solar cell company, a reusable space vehicle company, and other stuff nobody even knows about. The future is hopefully going to shake out in a way that these are useful items. Invest in Tesla, or not? Stock price volatility is natural in emerging sectors and with compelling brands. Tesla is a case in point. Tesla shares started the year in the low $200s and approached $400 by the end of June. Now it sits in the low $300s. Such dramatic swings require a certain faith for an investor. This most recent share-price drop appears to be about Tesla’s TSLA, -1.85% ability to deliver its new Model 3 to pre-order buyers on time. Is this volatility a blip that Tesla can shake off, as has been true of Apple AAPL, +1.39% , AlphabetGOOGL, +0.12% , Amazon.com AMZN, -0.58% , and Facebook FB, +0.23% ? Despite stormy periods, these companies have seen their market valuations soar. Tesla has been a bet on the future, more than an investment based on actual sales revenue and profits. That makes Tesla’s stock inherently bumply. Indeed, volatility is common to any industry facing dramatic disruption, both to incumbents and new players. Tesla has every chance to keep growing, and growing stronger. Tesla’s corporate structure is less-encumbered than its peers and its production costs are declining.