Billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison reveals $1bn stake in Tesla

The billionaire, 74,  indirectly owns 3 million Tesla shares
The billionaire, 74,  indirectly owns 3 million Tesla shares

Oracle founder Larry Ellison has disclosed a holding worth $1 billion in Tesla after being appointed to the company's board in December.

The billionaire, 74,  indirectly owns 3 million Tesla shares through the Lawrence J. Ellison Revocable Trust, according to a filing made to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 

The 1.75pc stake makes him the second-largest disclosed individual shareholder after "close friend" and Tesla founder Elon Musk.

Ellison’s revelation comes at a difficult time for Tesla. Last month, the company said it had missed industry forecasts for deliveries of its budget Model 3 car and announced price cuts to offset lower tax incentives.

Musk also courted controversy last year, with the SEC ordering greater board oversight following the CEO’s claims in August of having funding and investor support to take the company private at $420 a share.

Musk's comments sparked a share frenzy, sending the stock as much as 11pc higher. By the close of play, Tesla's value had jumped by $6.3bn and Musk was $1.2bn richer.

However, it later emerged that while investors had briefly discussed the possibility, funding was not secured, as Mr Musk had suggested. 

Both Musk and the company agreed to pay $20 million penalties and added Ellison and human resources expert Kathleen Wilson-Thompson as directors.

Ellison is the world’s ninth-richest person with a net worth of $51.4 billion on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His stake in Oracle is worth about $39 billion.

In October, Ellison revealed he had been building a personal stake in Tesla and that it was his second-largest holding during a meeting with analysts.

He also criticised how the media had covered Musk, whom he lauded for “landing rockets” and called a close friend.

The electric car company was forced to make the additions to its board following actions by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this year. 

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