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Tesla has confirmed that billionaire Larry Ellison owns a stake in Tesla worth about $1 billion. Considering the current share prices of Tesla stock, the stake amounts to around 3 million shares, making him the second largest disclosed shareholder behind Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
The prominent electric vehicle manufacturer has had a fairly rocky 2018, what with its “production hell” and trouble brewing at the top courtesy of Musk. After being charged with securities fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) back in September 2018, and subsequently reaching a settlement which saw Musk step down as chairman and pay a fine, it is little wonder that the need to bring in two additional directors was felt.
This is what led to Ellison joining the Tesla board of directors. Musk, meanwhile, has continued in the role of CEO.
This has undoubtedly boosted investor confidence in Tesla, as Ellison is an impressive figure in his own right. With a current net worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $60 billion, he made his wealth by founding Oracle, the world’s most popular database management system in the late 70s.
Naturally, Ellison commands immense respect in the technology world and his decision to take a stake in Tesla can be viewed as an expression of confidence in Tesla and its roguish CEO. He stated back in October that this is his second largest investment to date, but did not go into details as to how much this position was worth.
While there was certainly a spike in share prices when the news broke, they closed at $335 and traded to just about even. The second person to join the Tesla board of directors is Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, head of HR at Walgreens.
(Image Source: WCCF Tech)
