If, for some reason, you’ve decided to invest in Tesla stock, you have a plethora of options to choose from to complete your courageous purchase. The advent of zero-commission, digital-first trading platforms have taken the power of stock trades away from Wall Street professionals and given it to everyday people. Now, you want to get in on the action. Good for you!
Whether you’re new to trading stock online or simply want to migrate to a different platform for your Tesla investment, it is always helpful to know what exactly is involved in the purchase process, what you can expect during the process, what fees you might have to pay, and more.
To reassure you during your first steps, we looked into the process of purchasing Tesla stock on eToro and compared it to other popular trading platforms to anticipate any questions you might have about the process. Doing this for the first time can be stressful, but after just one or two trades, it will become almost second nature, and the more familiar you become with certain stocks or industries, the more confident you can be in your decision to buy, sell, or hold a particular stock. Here is how to buy Tesla stock on eToro, step by step.
Step 1: Start With a Plan
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This is true when trading with any stock. Before you take the first step in trading stocks, you should understand why you want to trade that stock in the first place, what you plan to do with it, and what the differences are between every decision you can make.
Investing or trading in stocks just because everyone else is or because a popular online influencer convinced you to is not a good reason to trade, and is instead a fantastic way to lose a lot of money.
Are you trying to make long-term investments? Do you want to participate in short-term stock trades or even day trading? Are you investing to support a company, make money, save money for the future, or something else?
Short-term stock purchases usually fall into the category of trading, while long-term stock purchases are usually called investments.
If you plan on trading in the short term, you should research the terms used in the industry, the history of the company you plan to trade (in this case, Tesla), and read the opinions of financial experts to see what they think the stock might do in the future. If they predict it will increase in price in the near future, they will probably call it a “buy” or a “hold” stock. If they think the price will fall, they will say it is a “sell” recommendation. While nobody really knows what a stock will do, it is good practice to at least understand how the market works so you are making an informed decision.
You can buy and sell as much (or as little) stock as you like, limited only by your budget and trading thresholds on the platform you choose. That being said, it is prudent and wise to limit yourself when you first begin trading until you really know what you are doing. This prevents costly mistakes and expensive losses. Start with one or two stocks, buy and sell a handful of times, and learn what your comfort zone is.
No matter how much you trade, however, you should always have a budget and never invest more than you are willing to lose. There is no predicting the stock market, and even less certainty about any single stock. You can lose everything overnight.
Finally, not every stock is available to trade on eToro around the world, and the laws and rules about what you can trade and how will change depending on where you live. This applies to the United States as well. As of the time of this article, eToro is not available to those living in American Samoa, Hawaii, Nevada, Guam, New York, the US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. You should research what is available on the eToro platform and what you can trade on it before you begin.
Step 2: Download the app and Create an Account
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eToro is available on Android phones and iPhones. You can also create an account online without using the smartphone app. Then, either in the app or the webpage, navigate to the Create an account menu option, choose your username, email, and password, agree to the conditions, then verify your email address.
Next, you will be asked to verify your personal information. This includes verifying your age and providing proof of your identity using a social security number or other identification. If you fail to verify yourself this way, eToro will ask you to verify your identity using other documents. You cannot use eToro without validating your identity.
Finally, you will have to connect your bank account and make a deposit to fully activate your account and begin trading.
Step 3: Find Tesla on the Trading Page and Purchase
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Once your account is verified and activated, it’s time to find Tesla on the trading page and make your trade. Within your eToro account, navigate to the Market page and you will see a list of many different stocks and ETFs available for trade, along with trending stocks, market analysis, and more.
You will want to click on the search bar at the top and type in either Tesla or the company ticker TSLA. The appropriate stock will appear in the results and you can click the Trade button next to it to initiate an immediate trade, but we recommend you click on the company to go to its page.
On the company page, you can see a stock overview, charts, stock analysis, news about Tesla, and trading stats. You should make it a habit to review this information before a trade to make sure you’re making the right decision at the right time.
Once you are sure you want to purchase Tesla stock, click on the Trade button then select the BUY option. Next, you will have to choose between a dollar amount you want to invest or a specific number of stocks. There is no difference between the two besides controlling how much you invest at any time or meeting a particular stock purchase goal.
Finalize your purchase by clicking on the Open Trade button.
That’s it! You will receive a confirmation that your purchase has been successful and you will see Tesla in your account with the number of shares you own. There is no undoing a purchase once you complete the process, but you can sell it back and hopefully only incur a small loss (or maybe a small gain).
From here you have a few things you can do with them, depending on your financial plan and budget. You can hold it for as long as you like (provided the company remains operational) or you can sell any time you feel like it has peaked or you want to cut your losses if it begins to drop sharply.
There are limits on how quickly you can buy and sell stocks, so if you want to trade quickly and often, look into those laws and rules to make sure you’re not being flagged as a pattern day trader, for example.
If you’re curious about any other part of eToro’s products and services, check out this page: a regularly updated list of all our eToro guides, news coverage, and lists of benefits.
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