I don't trade in stocks. On very rare occasions, I invest in something I see a future in. The EVs have not been financial investments. They have been investments in the future although my $17 TSLA shares have done fairly well financially
Understanding EVs, their technology, infrastructure, and ecosystem has enabled me to make very good choices very early on. Having early experience with them has enabled me to get very close to the industry and hone my models of the technology, infrastructure, ecosystem, etc over the past 30 years (I started tracking and following the EV1 in '91 after casually watching the lame stuff that appeared in the '70's gas crunch).
I'm happy to share my findings with the public so we can all benefit. It just saddens me sometimes when naive people argue with me with their nonsense. I just hope others besides me can benefit from my shared observations,
As far as cars go: ICE cars are consumable commodities, however, even with them, there are strategies one can use to save money overall.
I buy my cars to minimize my transportation costs. A wise old friend once said that if you want to be rich, drive an old car. I expanded on that to drive the right old car that takes cheap fuel. I've driven over 300,000 miles on electricity, thus saving a whole lot of money. I have solar on my house so the local travel energy is paid-up for the next few decades. I won't mention how little I pay for charging on my many road trips.
My old beat-up ICE truck for off-road play and local hauling is over a decade old so, clearly, it is fully paid off and costing little. It only costs money to register, insure (which are low because of the age and few annual miles), and when I have a little extra money to play with.
Just FYI: I would be very unlikely to waste my money on an EV from a company that does not want to make EVs. Hyundai/Kia are among the less reluctant of the ICE OEMs however, they, like the rest aren't, doing things very well (C- at best). To be successful, a company must make every investment and expense a win-win, maximizing the benefit. Like the rest of the ICE OEMs, H/K would be happiest if they could kill EVs again. They probably aren't going to break their necks to make their EVs successful. Since they only recently copied the ICE technology of others, however, H/K aren't as vested in it as those who actually invested in developing ICE technology like many of the rest (GM, MBZ, Honda, Ford, Fiat, VW, etc). They probably figure they can copy EV technology just like they did ICE. I hope their dealers start actually supporting them. The Kia Soul was pretty much sold as a detested orphan by its dealers, offering very bad support. It will be interesting to see how well they developed and treat the Niro and Kona. I hope they are holding up after 8+ years or 100K+ miles or so, making the current owners happy. I certainly won't invest in their stock until I see a little corporate wisdom on the EV subject. Since their charging infrastructure and reliability are so poor, I don't consider them to be furthering my pro-EV cause so I won't waste my EV money buying one of them either, saving it for another win-win for myself and society.
A Tesla Model 3 or Y may be more expensive to buy but it is superior to an ICE sedan in every regard sans none and, in the long run, will be much cheaper than most other EVs. That's a win.
That it the company is doing what I believe should be done with EVs (investing to make batteries cheaper, cars safer, good infrastructure, etc), I see that as another win for my money.
That my brother's life was likely saved because he was driving a Tesla Model Y when he got t-boned at 55 mph (~95 kph) by a red-light running mini-van: yet another huge win.
Then there are the other benefits that any EV provides: cheap self-generated energy, clean air, no wars over fuel, sustainable, ...) adding another stack of wins.
I saw these back in 2006 when I talked with most of the engineers and management of the fledgling Tesla. Personal experience with the EV1 as well as other gleaned and borrowed knowledge from others wiser than me helped too. It's 15 years later and clearly, I was 100% right. That's what I call an investment with a
real payback. 20,117% return on my investment $ in 10 years isn't bad either. I don't know if the Roadster will be worth anything if we ever decide to sell, however, it certainly has and continues to convince a lot of people to go out and buy EVs. This provides ever expanding of the aforementioned energy, air, no-wars, and sustainability wins.
Maybe if we're lucky, Tesla will truly have self-driving working by the time old age renders me no longer capable to drive myself. That would be a priceless, selfish win to top it all.
And you think investment is just about when:
markets are frothy and bottom fish when blood is on the floor
I prefer to invest to plant a tiny seed that will grow into a tree that will grow into a forest.
Sorry for the long rant folks.