Korean investors continue purchasing Tesla stocks

Tesla CEO Elon Musk / Yonhap

By Anna J. Park

Korean retail investors' love for EV maker Tesla is unending. Not only was Tesla Korean investors' most net-purchased overseas stock in 2020, amounting to $12.7 billion (14.2 tril. won), it was also their top pick in January this year.

According to the latest figures on the info portal of Korea Securities Depository (KSD), local retail investors net-purchased $4.7 billion worth of overseas stocks in January, and about 20 percent of that money went into purchasing Tesla shares. In January alone, they bought $929 million worth of Tesla stocks.

As of Jan. 28, the total amount of Tesla shares owned by Korean investors exceeded $10.6 billion, or 11.93 trillion won, which is more than a 73-fold jump in just one year.

Tesla achieved its first-ever annual profit in 2020, as its yearly revenue reached $31.5 billion with net profit coming in at $721 million. It was the sixth-consecutive quarterly net profit for the company. Revenue was up 28 percent year-on-year.

Tesla delivered 499,550 vehicles to customers around the world in 2020, as sales volume reached a record high of 180,570 vehicles during the fourth quarter.

Apple is Korean retail investors' second-favorite pick in overseas stocks. They net-purchased $520 million, or 583 billion won worth of Apple shares in January.