Surge in share prices help Canadian ‘Teslanaire’ retire at 43

In case you hadn’t heard, the price of Tesla (TSLA) shares have skyrocketed recently. In 2020, it increased over 700%.

On Thursday, shares reached an all-time high above $800, catapulting CEO Elon Musk into the top spot as the richest person in the world.

It hasn’t always been that way though as long-term investors have suffered through rough patches where prices dipped into the $30 range (post 5-1 split value).

One Canadian investor has held his ground through the years, and that commitment has allowed him to become a ‘Teslanaire’ and retire at just 43-years old.

How it Started

Spencer, more commonly known in the Twittersphere as Tesla Army, lives in Victoria, British Columbia. Working for the provincial government since 2005 in a job he didn’t love, Spencer tells Drive Tesla he had a hunch the EV automaker could be his golden ticket to an early retirement.

“I have always wanted to retire from my current job as I did not love it (desk job) and sitting at a desk all day for years on end really began to wear me down physically and mentally. I knew with everything I had learned that Tesla was a one of the once in a lifetime opportunity and that it may lead to me being able to retire early.

His first investment was in 2017, when prices hovered between $50 and $70 per share. Since then he has continually added to his position, even selling his real estate last year to put more money into Tesla. All told, he has invested over $450,000.

Second Thoughts?

He didn’t always have that level of confidence in the automaker. After watching CEO Elon Musk’s interview on September 6, 2018 with Joe Rogan, Spencer sold every single share he had. It wasn’t because Musk smoked weed on the podcast, but because of the impact the Model 3 ramp was having on the CEO, both mentally and physically.

“This was during the excruciating Model 3 ramp in 2018…you could see the trauma Elon had inflicted on himself from giving everything he had to make it work. In fact when I first watched the interview I had to turn it off after 40 minutes.”

After rewatching the interview several times he regained his confidence, buying back all the shares and even purchasing a Model 3 two days later.

Early Retirement

After the rollercoaster ride that was 2020 and some cash-flow analysis (he’s a Certified Public Accountant by day), it became clear that early retirement was a real possibility. With his health at the top of his mind, Spencer put in his paperwork to retire from his job on January 4, 2021.

What will he do now? Spencer says he’ll use the extra free time to spend it with his new puppy, to get in and stay in shape, and continue to manage investments. Oh, and have at least one daily nap.

Do you have a similar Tesla investing story to share? Are you a ‘Teslanaire’? Let us know by sending an email to tips@driveteslacanada.ca.