How To Buy Tesla (TSLA ) Shares From The UK – The Definitive Guide

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Tesla shares have taken an absolute battering recently for political and economical reasons, but there still be room for the share price to rise.

As well as being a high growth stock, Tesla is also a high risk stock. So make sure you are prepared for the ups and downs of volatile stocks. By choosing a low cost investment platform you can keep costs down.” 

To buy Tesla shares in the UK you need a stock broker that provides access to US shares like eToro or Interactive Brokers. In this guide, I’ll take you through the process of buying Tesla (TSLA ) shares in the UK. As well as identifying the best way for you to do that in the cheapest and easieist way.

Related guides:

5 Simple Steps To Buy Tesla Shares In The UK 

The key steps you need to follow to buy Tesla shares are:

  1. Choose an investment platform (you will need one that offers US stock investing)
  2. Open an account
  3. Add funds
  4. Set up the order
  5. Completing the order

To be able to buy shares in Telsa, which trades under the ticker symbol TSLA, you will need to choose a stockbroker and then open a brokerage account at your chosen firm.

You will then need to add funds to your new account and once that's done you will need to decide how much money you wish to invest in Tesla, and what the best way to make that investment is, whether, for example, you put your money in all at once, or spread it over a period of time.

Time Needed: 5 minutes
Minimum Cost: 230 USD

Basic Requirements:

- Computer or Mobile Phone
- Internet Connection.
- Money

Specific Requirements:

- Stock Brokerage Account
- National Insurance Number
- W-8 BEN Form

Follow these steps to buy Tesla shares from the UK

You can compare brokers that offer access to US stock markets, but two really good choices are eToro if you are a beginner or Interactive Brokers, if you are more experienced.

Both brokers don't charge commission for trading US stocks and let you trade fractional shares so if you don't want to buy whole Tesla shares as they are quite expensive, you can just buy $100 worth instead of 1 share, which is currently $230.

For this guide on how to buy Tesla shares, I am going to demo the process on eToro as we will assume that this is your first time buying shares, and the account opening process is very simple.
UK Brokers For Buying Tesla Stocks
Step 2: Fund Your Account
Before you can use your new share trading account, you will need to fund it, which means you will need to deposit money into the account.

To do this, click on the "Deposit Funds" button on the bottom right of the screen. You will need to deposit GBP and convert it to USD. It will make life easier if you tick the box that automatically converts is to US Dollars as you know you are about to buy a US stock.

There will be a fee for doing this, though known as the exchange rate spread, this where eToro makes it's money as buying US stocks is free. You can check how much these fees on our US stock broker comparison table.

Whichever currency you are funding your account in, you will need to think about where the money is coming from. It can only come from an account held in your name, not your partner's or a relative's name.

What’s more, to prevent money laundering, the broker will only be able to return any money back to the account from which it was first sent.

A debit card or bank transfer will likely be the fastest and most efficient method.

However, there may be restrictions on the amount of money that you can transfer, at any one time, using these methods. If you are buying a large amount of Tesla shares a transfer, a TT or Chaps payment, which you can arrange with your bank in advance, will keep your costs down if you use a more advanced account like Interactive Brokers.
Deposit Funds to buy Tesla Shares
Step 3: Complete a W-8 BEN Forms
When UK investors buy US shares the US tax authorities require them to fill out a form known as  W-8BEN. The form provides the IRS with information about your tax status in the US, which can be used to levy the correct rate of withholding tax on any dividends you may receive from US stocks that you own. Once complete the form is valid for three years.
Tesla W8 Ben Form
Step 4: Setting Up The Order
On eToro to buy Tesla shares you need to search for "Tesla" or "TSLA" (Tesla's stock code) in the search bar at the top of the screen. You'll see a few options, TSLA and TSLA.EXT. Choose TSLA, as TSLA.EXT is the extend hours listing for Tesla shares where you can buy them when the market is closed, but is more expensive as the buy and sell price is wider than the normal listing.

As we mentioned above once you have opened and funded your share trading account you will now need to consider what size of investment you wish to make into Tesla (TSLA) shares you may also wish to consider what price you want to pay to own those shares.

For example, you may believe that Tesla stock is overvalued at $230 per share but that $230 represents an attractive entry point in which case you might want to use a limit order to buy a set amount of Tesla stock at $240 per share should the price get back there.

Alternatively, you may not be too worried about the current price but instead want to build up a core holding in Tesla stock by investing a regular sum, say £500 each month. Many brokers offer regular savings and investment plans which can be funded through direct debits, however one downside of eToro is that it doesn't offer this.

Or perhaps you just want to own Tesla stock right now regardless of the price in which case you want to place a buy-at-market order through your trading platform.

To place an order you will need to login into your trading platform and create a new deal ticket selecting the stock you want to trade, the direction of the trade, in this case, buy, the number of shares you wish to purchase and the order type.

If you select a limit order you will need to nominate your limit price and the length of time the limit order is valid for. Though your broker may have a default setting for this, for example, GFD or Good For the Day - meaning the order will lapse at the close of business if it hasn't been executed.

If you select a market order then once submitted your order will be executed immediately at the best available price.
Search For Tesla
Step 5: Completing The Order
Once you are happy that you have entered the order correctly you will need to submit it to the broker but before you do that it’s always worth double-checking that you have selected the right stock, the correct quantity of shares, the right trade direction and order type.

If you have sufficient money in your share trading account to fund your trade, then when you click enter or submit, your order should be accepted and will either be executed immediately or worked as a pending order.

However, if the order has been entered incorrectly or if you don't have cleared funds to trade the the order will be rejected.

When your order is executed, you will receive a confirmation from your broker. The confirmation will contain details of the trade, including the number of shares traded, whether they were bought or sold. The price that the order was traded at, the time of submission and execution of the trade, and the settlement date, thats the point at which cash and shares are exchanged to complete the deal.
Step 6: Tracking Your Position
One you have opened your position and bought your Tesla shares you can go to your portfolio page and track your profit and loss.

In your portolfio page you'll also get quick links to change your stops and limits as well as close your position and sell your Tesla shares.
Tracking your Tesla shares

How much does it cost to buy Tesla shares (NASDAQ:TSLA) in the UK?

As of 16:00 02-May-2025 buying one Tesla share costs $287.21. However, as well as the $287.21 cost of buying the shares you will also have to pay any relevant tax, commission when you buy and sell shares, custody fees for holding your shares on your account and foreign exchange fees for converting GBP into USD. You also have to consider the difference between the bid price (the price at which you sell shares) and the offer price (the price at which you buy shares). These fees vary depending on what sort of account you open, and with what broker.

The current Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) share price is $287.21 which is a change of 6.69 or 2.38% from the last closing price of 280.52 with 114,454,683 shares traded giving Tesla a market capitalisation of £899,963,891,924. The most recent daily high has been 294.78 and daily low 279.81. The Tesla share price 52 week high has been 488.54 and the 52 week low 167.41. Based on the most recent Tesla share price opening of 287.21, the current Tesla EPS (earnings per share) are 1.82 and the PE (price earnings ratio) is 158.08. Price last updated 16:00 02-May-2025.

No, Tesla is a growth stock and it is still investing in its business and therefore does not pay dividends to shareholders. Read our guide on dividend investing.

No, To buy Tesla shares you will need to open a share trading account with a stock broker or other provider.

Tesla had an IPO on June 29th 2010, at a price of US$17.00 per share.

You can buy a minimum Tesla share in the normal way. However, by using fractional share trading you buy a smaller amount.

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