Tesla will get more than money from Tencent’s investment
Elon Musk just gained a massive and well-connected confidant to help him better crack China’s car market
San Francisco — Tesla CEO Elon Musk just gained a massive and well-connected confidant to help him better crack China’s vehicle market: Tencent Holdings. The Chinese internet giant is not just an investor, Musk said after his electric-car maker disclosed Tencent had bought a 5% stake in his company for $1.8bn. He also referred to the owner of the WeChat and QQ messaging services as an adviser. "Tencent’s passive stake is not only a vote of confidence in Elon Musk and the future of electric vehicles, but also may help in accessing the Chinese market," Barclays vehicle analyst Brian Johnson wrote in a note to clients on Tuesday. In getting behind Tesla, Tencent also is adding to existing bets on electric cars. It was an early backer of Nio, the startup owned by Chinese internet entrepreneur William Li and originally called NextEV. Nio’s US headquarters are in San Jose, California, and the company has vowed to bring a plug-in autonomous car to the US market by 2020. While Tencent has c...
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