KAMPALA — Ugandan teenager Nyanzi Martin Luther has bought a stake in American electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Inc., acquiring 0.92 shares through an international brokerage platform.
Nyanzi, 16, popularly known as Blockboy, made the purchase on Friday, October 30, 2026. The transaction was settled the following Monday.
He says the money came from BB Promotions, his events-promotion business, and not Block FM, the online radio station he founded in 2023. Nyanzi previously served as chief executive of Block Media Services Ltd and remains a shareholder in the company.
The Tesla investment comes after his experience with local investment platforms MTN Yinvester and Xeno, where he had been saving and earning returns of about 12 per cent annually.
He says he became interested in international stocks because he wanted to explore investment opportunities beyond the local market.
“I wanted to get super rich, so I needed a recognisable company to boost my brand too,” he said.
Tesla was his first choice because of his admiration for its chief executive, Elon Musk, whom he considers a role model. He had also been following the company’s stock performance.
Nyanzi says some of his colleagues, including Muyanja Sharifu, popularly known as OSU, advised him to consider Google, arguing that its shares were less likely to lose value. He nevertheless chose to start with Tesla.
Since he is below 18, the investment account arrangements were made with his mother’s knowledge and consent. He says the money used for the purchase was earned from his own business activities.
He admits that using Interactive Brokers was not easy at first, particularly because of the financial terminology on the platform. He sometimes relied on artificial intelligence tools to understand the information presented during the investment process.
The purchase was made through fractional investing, which allows individuals to own part of a company’s share without buying a whole unit. The value of the holding changes with the market price of the stock, exposing the investor to both potential gains and losses.
Nyanzi says he intends to keep the Tesla shares for several years and gradually invest more of his business earnings in other international companies.
His latest move reflects an interest in building wealth beyond his existing activities in media and events promotion, although he says he intends to remain involved in business while pursuing long-term investment opportunities.
