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Morgan Freeman's respect for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Elon Musk still stands out years after he first talked about it. Back in 2016, during an interview with CNBC's Carl Quintanilla, Freeman said, "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." That was a big nod to Musk's vision, which has only drawn more attention over time.
At the time of Freeman's interview, Tesla's stock was trading at roughly $13.50 per share, adjusted for splits. Fast forward to today, and it's hovering around $415 per share.
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That's a jaw-dropping increase of nearly 3,000% in just over eight years. To put that into perspective, a $10,000 investment in Tesla back then would now be worth more than $300,000.
Even though Freeman's comments were full of praise, his personal investments are a mystery. As his publicist told Business Insider, "Mr. Freeman has a policy of not publicly discussing his personal investments." Regardless, Tesla's growth since 2016 speaks for itself.
The numbers back this up. Tesla's revenue jumped from $7 billion in 2016 to $96.8 billion in 2023, based on Statista data. That's a compound annual growth rate of 43.3%. And while the company posted a $600 million net loss in 2016, it reported nearly $15 billion in net income by 2023, according to Macrotrends.
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These gains stem from increased production efficiency and demand for its popular models, like the Model Y and Model 3.
Freeman didn't just focus on Tesla in that interview. He also gave Musk credit for SpaceX's achievements, particularly reusable rocket technology. "He's landed a rocket ship so it's reusable — you know what a feat that is?" Freeman said.
He went on to compare Musk's Mars ambitions with the pioneering spirit of the Old West, explaining, "Now we're taking off and going to Mars, delivering stuff to people who are going to be settling there, just like they settled the Old West."