China’s Tencent reveals 5% stake in Tesla

Chinese investment group Tencent Holdings — which is involved in a range of ventures from social media and e-commerce to mobile games — has revealed its latest holding: a piece of US electric car maker Tesla.

Tencent said in a regulatory filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday that it had 8,167,544 shares of Elon Musk’s Tesla, translating to a 5 per cent stake in the company. The move makes it Tesla’s fifth-largest shareholder, behind others including Mr Musk himself, according to Bloomberg data.

Tencent, along with Chinese peers Baidu and Alibaba, is a prolific dealmaker, and one of the most highly valued stocks in the emerging market universe.

Tesla shares are up 2.5 per cent in pre-market trading following the news.