How Much You Would Have Now If You Had Invested Your Tax Refund in Tesla in 2023

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If you’re receiving a tax refund this year, you’ve likely thought about how you can spend this money, from paying down debt to going on a trip. While there are various strategies for using your tax refund, some people have chosen to invest their money in the stock market. 

This article will examine what would have happened if you had invested your entire tax refund in Tesla stock in early 2023. 

Investing Your Tax In Refund in Tesla Stock

According to the IRS, the average tax refund amount received in 2023 was $2,753, and you typically get your refund within 21 days of electronically filing your return. 

The 2023 tax season opened on Jan. 23, 2023, the first day the IRS started accepting returns. If you filed your return that day, you could have had your funds around Feb. 13, 2023. The deadline was April 18. We will assume that you filed your return on one of these days and then received the average amount within 21 days, by the latest date of May 9, 2023. The range of Feb. 13 to May 9, 2023, will be used to determine what happened to your money. 

Here are some of the notable figures that we will review:

• Tesla closed at $163.57 per share on March 15, 2024.
• Tesla’s share price as of closing on May 9, 2023, was $169.15
• Tesla’s share price as of closing on Feb. 13, 2023, was $194.64

Your $2,753 tax refund would have bought you 14 Tesla shares on Feb. 13 and 16 on May 9 last year. As of closing on March 15, 2024, the 14 shares would have been worth $2,290 and your 14 shares would have been worth $2,617. 

Your $2,753 investment would be down either way as of this moment. 

Tesla stock had a one-year range of $152.37 to $299.29, so if you invested your entire tax refund into this company, you would have experienced some stress if you tracked the price often. 

Should You Invest In Tesla This Year?

According to the IRS, the average refund for the week ending on March 8, 2024, was $3,145. The average tax refund for the week ending Feb. 23 was $3,213. If you received your $3,213 on March 15 and purchased Tesla stock, you would have 19 shares. However, before you invest in Tesla shares, we want to look at some possibilities for the upcoming year. 

Here are some considerations before investing your money in Tesla stock now.

Tesla’s Stock Has Been Dropping

Tesla hasn’t had an impressive year in 2024, with the stock price dropping due to market fears about a slow year. Tesla shares dropped 12% in a day when the company reported disappointing earnings in January.

Even though the reported revenue and earnings missed analyst expectations, the bigger concern was the outlook for Tesla into 2024. The company warned investors that vehicle volume growth would slow down. Tesla has been dropping prices globally due to increased competition from other automakers, which has also hurt the margins.

Tesla Stock Price Outlook

Some analysts believe Tesla could have a bull run in 2025 due to other innovations outside the electric vehicle market. Adam Jonas, an analyst from Morgan Stanley, believes that Tesla could be worth more in the future due to innovations outside of the automobile space; he sees it as a company that does vehicles, energy and AI/robotics.

However, Jonas recently cut his price target to $320 from $345. Some concerns include the slowdown in EV demand after price cuts, Hertz dropping EVs from the fleet and the higher demand for hybrid vehicles. 

On the other hand, some analysts are bearish on Tesla because they worry about little to no revenue growth. Wells Fargo dropped Tesla’s price target from $200 to $120 due to concerns about the impact of price cuts on global demand for EVs. Musk himself has warned investors that growth could be lower for the year. 

Diversification is Key

Many financial experts have stated that you should diversify your portfolio when deciding how to invest your money. While it’s tempting to allocate all your funds toward one company you believe in, you could be better off investing in an index fund or choosing a pool of companies you believe will experience growth. 

As always, you should consult an investing advisor.

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