Morgan Freeman Revealed In 2016 That He Owns Tesla Stock: Since Then, Elon Musk-Led EV Giant's Shares Have Surged 30X

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk on Thursday shared a snippet of an interview given by actor Morgan Freeman in 2016, in which the Oscar-winning actor admits to investing in the EV company.

What Happened: “I own Tesla. I’m a huge fan of Elon Musk’s and I think he’s got the most incredibly forward-thinking ideas about where we can go technologically,” Freeman said in his 2016 interview with CNBC when asked about his stock holdings.

“He’s, you know, what he’s done, nobody else has ever done. He’s landed a rocket ship so it’s reusable — you know what a feat that is?” Freeman said, referring to the achievements of Musk’s rocket manufacturing company SpaceX.

“Now we’re taking off and we’re going to Mars, delivering stuff to people who are going to be settling there, just like they settled the Old West, and bringing those ships back and landing them and reloading them,” the Oscar-winning actor added, referring to Musk’s dreams for taking people to Mars on rockets manufactured by SpaceX.

Musk has shared the same interview previously in April. “Morgan Freeman is awesome,” Musk then wrote.

Why It Matters: It is unclear how much stock Freeman owns in Tesla or at what price he bought it. However, the stock, as well as the company’s financials, have risen phenomenally since the day the interview was aired.

Tesla stock closed at $13.52 on Sept. 6, 2016, adjusted for corporate actions. Last Friday, the stock closed at $406.58, representing a 30-times jump.

In the past five years alone, the stock has risen over 800%.

In 2016, Tesla reported annual revenue of $7 billion and in 2023, it ballooned to $96.77 billion. In 2020, the company turned a full-year profit for the first time. In 2023, the company reported non-GAAP earnings per share of $3.12.

Tesla is slated to report its full-year 2024 financial results on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

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