Chinese tech giant Tencent acquired a 5 percent stake in California-based electric carmaker Tesla Inc. for $1.78 billion.
Tencent now owns about 8.2 million shares, 8,167,544 shares to be exact, in Tesla, the carmaker said.
Tencent is now the fifth-largest shareholder in Tesla, behind Elon Musk and investment companies Fidelity, Baillie Gifford and T. Rowe Price, according to a Schedule 13G form filed by Tesla with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Tesla has been raising capital as it readies for the launch of its mass-market Model 3 sedan.
Tesla raised about $1.2 billion by selling common shares and convertible debt earlier this month.
Elon Musk is Tesla’s top shareholder, with a stake of about 21 percent as of Dec. 31.
