In 2013, A Los Angeles Engineer Spent $19,000 On His First Tesla Shares. He Survived A 2018 Margin Call And A 76% Crash In 2023. Here’s What Investors Can Learn From The Wild Story Of Jason DeBolt’s $19,000 Purchase Turning Into $2.8 Million.
A Los Angeles engineer poured his savings into Tesla before anyone was paying attention, then watched leverage, a market crash, and a home sale test every conviction he had. The outcome will surprise you less than the journey getting there.
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In March 2013, a Los Angeles software engineer bought his first shares of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA | TSLA Price Prediction). This was years before the stock became a retail phenomenon. Ramp Capital puts the cost at $19,000.
Two Splits Explain the Share Count
Ramp Capital reports the purchase as 2,500 shares at $7.50/share. That count already reflects the August 2020 five-for-one split. The August 2022 three-for-one split turns the lot into 7,500 shares today. No single quoted share count explains what the position is worth.
Ramp Capital reports he graduated in business economics and worked at a large search company before moving to startups.
A 2018 Margin Call Cost Him for Good
In 2018, Ramp Capital reports, a margin call on borrowed money forced him to sell to cover losses. He lost 1,600 of the shares he originally owned, according to Ramp Capital.
He sold those shares under pressure. Leverage for good reduced his position, despite his thesis turning out right.
A House Sale, Early Retirement, Then a Crash
In his own posts on X, Jason DeBolt said he sold his Hollywood Hills home to fund more Tesla purchases, with the winning offer closing Dec. 7, 2020.
Ramp Capital reports he retired from his corporate engineering job on January 7, 2021, at age 39, citing Tesla gains. His position amounted roughly $13 million across a brokerage account, a rollover 401(k), and a Roth IRA, according to Ramp Capital.
Teslarati reports the stock then fell 76% from $415 to $101 between its earlier peak and January 2023. He bought roughly 10,000 more shares in the $128 to $139 range during the decline, bringing his position to 48,000 shares, according to Teslarati.
What His First Purchase Is Worth Now
Tesla traded at $372.16 as of 12:59 PM ET on October 2, 2026. His original lot is worth $2.79 million, a 146.9x return on the 2013 purchase alone.
Tesla is up 5.10% today but down 17.25% year-to-date and 19% over the past year.
Why Nobody Should Copy This
This path carried extreme risk. He concentrated an enormous share of his net worth into one company, used margin (which cost him for good), and sold his primary residence to buy more of one volatile stock. Conviction is a powerful force in investing, but it can be dangerous to put too much of your net worth in a single stock.
f you want exposure to a story like this without betting the house, the trick is fencing off a small piece of the portfolio with real rules, the same ones we laid out in a free speculation playbook.
What Long Term Investors Can Learn From This Wild Story
DeBolt’s patience is the applicable part: he held for a long time, sat through severe losses in a position he understood, and avoided panic selling. There is also something to be said to buying a company that you believe in because you are less likely to panic sell in the tough times.
The concentration, leverage, house sale, and outcome belong to him alone. His endurance and his losses both carry lessons.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
AJ spent 10 years writing about financial markets at The Motley Fool. His coverage centers on technology stocks and the broader macroeconomic trends, from interest rates to geopolitics, that shape where markets are headed next. AJ is drawn to the stories where big-picture economics and individual companies collide.
