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

How to buy shares in Tesla (TSLA) from 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.

Choosing a Broker

The first thing to consider when choosing a broker is that you should only deal through an FCA-regulated business where your money and assets will be protected under UK law and by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Protections that you won’t get if you deal with a firm that isn’t regulated in the UK.

The next thing to think about is whether the broker offers the services you need. In this case, does it allow its clients to buy and hold US stocks? If it does, what does it charge for this service, and are there any restrictions on deal sizes and minimum ticket charges?

Open An Account

Once you are happy that you have found a firm that offers the services you require at a competitive price. The next thing to do is to open a share trading account with the firm.

A share trading account will allow you to deal dealing in physical stocks and shares and funds. Those assets will usually be held in custody on your behalf by the brokerage firm or their agents.

Opening a brokerage account will require you to fill in an application form, usually completed online. You will need to provide the firm with details such as your name and address, a contact telephone number and email address. You may also be asked some questions about your finances and your investment experience and goals, be honest when you answer these questions.

The broker will want to verify your details and confirm your identity for anti-money laundering purposes. That verification process can normally be done online but on occasion, the broker may ask you to submit supporting documents, such as a passport or driving licence to verify your ID, and or, a recent utility bill or bank statement to confirm your address.

Once your application has been approved your account will be open.

Adding Funds

However, 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 you will need the correct payment details from the broker, bearing in mind that some brokers allow you to fund and run your share trading account in currencies other than sterling.

And if thats what you are intending to do you will need the specific payment instructions for say, US dollars.

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.

Once you are happy with which bank account and which currency you are funding your share trading account from, and with, you will need to choose your payment method which can include an online bank transfer, a telegraphic transfer, also known as TT or wire transfer, a debit card payment or even a cheque.

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.

For larger transfers, a TT or Chaps payment, which you can arrange with your bank in advance, maybe a better bet.

Setting Up The Order

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 $260 per share but that $240 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,

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.

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.