I was browsing my photo album over lunch today and came across this gem:

On that day, it was the single worst trading day since 1987. Now compare that to the stock market today:

If there was an argument to be made here, it’s that in the long run, most things are usually not as bad as it seems. And vice versa. The human mind and body are quite flexible and can tolerate quite a bit of stress. It helps to keep a long-term mindset to ensure one is mentally and physically healthy. Just like working out one day doesn’t make you an Olympic athlete, but sustained training over a long period of time, will get you darn close. 

It’s also tough to bet against America 🇺🇸. As a junior corporate worker in 2008, I applied for the CFA scholarship, which would cover the cost of taking the Level 1 exam, and mentioned in the essay that I don’t believe recessions will last forever and now is the best time to improve one’s skills. 

Short commentary this week because I'm returning from a trip to Dallas (amazing city, loved it). Regularly scheduled programming to resume this week. Always great to see a portfolio up while away on vacation :)

Tough week for Tesla shareholders. Elon decides to layoff the entire supercharger team of 500 staff, putting contractor partners in an awkward position of not knowing who is left at Tesla to contact. Is this a sign of a brilliant genius or the beginning of the end? 

I still think the best days are ahead for Tesla shareholders. EV as an industry is facing incredible headwinds that are not unique to Tesla, so it makes sense for Elon to scale back investments in areas that are not directly tied to revenue. Supercharging makes up a small percentage of overall revenue. However, I strongly disagree with the "axe" approach of chopping the entire supercharger division. 

With NACS becoming the industry standard in almost all cars sold in the U.S. and Canada starting 2025, it bodes well for Tesla that demand for supercharger network is just around the corner.  

August 8 cannot come fast enough!

Tesla Robotaxi unveil on 8/8

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2024

Whoa, what a week! Elon makes a surprise visit to China and he returns back to the U.S. with approval to operate FSD in China. I always believed that when it comes to AI, Tesla is miles ahead of anyone in real world application with all the video data they collect. If anyone is going to solve autonomous driving, my bet is on Tesla.

MSFT was pretty flat this week despite some news about investing in Malaysia's AI capabilities and some product announcements. They did well on their earnings overall.

Bitcoin seems to have hit a lull since the halving. My guess is probably profit taking from speculators. Interestingly, Huan Ventures has emerged from hibernation and is starting to make investments as noted in The Information. Read more.

Investors this week liked what they heard from Tesla and Microsoft. Both stocks are up post-earnings.

Sorry, short update today because I have some prior commitments.