It's probably fair to say that Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) – the California-based electric car and battery manufacturer – has amassed a certain reputation for the unconventional. Whether it's the eccentric Tesla CEO Elon Musk's regular (and sometimes, frankly bizarre) Twitter presence, futuristic Tesla vehicles like the Roadster and Cybertruck, or gimmicky products like the 'Not a Flamethrower' flamethrower and the infamous 'short-shorts', Musk and Tesla have certainly mastered the art of free advertising.
One of Tesla's more recent products has been a Tesla-branded tequila. This is known as 'Tesla Tequila' – sometimes dubbed 'Teslaquila' despite a rejected copyright application. This Tesla Tequila comes in a lightning-shaped bottle (replete with a display stand). It is only available in certain states in the USA. Customers are restricted to buying 2 bottles at a time.
Tesla Tequila was first announced back on April Fool's Day 2018, so naturally many people thought it was a prank. But according to reporting in the Australian Financial Review (AFR) today, Tesla Tequila has (of course) proved immensely popular. The AFR reports that Tesla Tequila became available for purchase last Thursday, but "was quickly listed as 'out of stock'"… within hours of the product's lift-off".
Not a bad outcome for Tesla, one could argue, seeing as each bottle reportedly cost US$250 (A$343).
What have Tesla shares been up to this year?
This 'breaking news' comes after a huge year for Tesla shares and shareholders.
The electric vehicle company has spent the year rocketing to seemingly relentless new heights. The share price has climbed from US$86 at the start of the year to the current price of US$421.26. That's a gain of 390%. Tesla shares are up more than 1,000% since May 2019.
Despite these massive gains, Tesla shares have been trading sideways for a while now, ever since making a new all-time high of US$502.49 around three months ago. The shares remain down around 15% from those highs.
Tesla also executed a highly publicised 5-for-1 stock split back in August, which pushed Tesla shares up more than 66% over the month of August alone.
Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) also announced a 4-for-1 stock split around the same time, and also subsequently benefitted enormously. That's despite a stock split having no material impact or benefit for existing shareholders.
It will be interesting to see if this new product from Tesla lasts the test of time. Or indeed makes the company a material amount of money. Mr. Musk reportedly raised US$10 million from selling the 'Not a Flamethrower' flamethrowers, so who knows where this next venture could go!
