Chinese tech giant Tencent takes 5% stake in Elon Musk’s Tesla

Tesla Inc said on Tuesday that Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd has invested $1.78 billion in the electric carmaker for a 5% stake.

Tesla Inc said on Tuesday that Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd has invested $1.78 billion in the electric carmaker for a 5% stake.

A sign of Tencent is seen during the third annual World Internet Conference in Wuzhen town of Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, China November 16, 2016. REUTERS/Aly Song/Files

Tencent, best known for its WeChat mobile app, has been investing in a number of sectors, including gaming, entertainment, cloud computing and online financing.

Tencent now owns more than 8 million shares in Tesla as of March 24, the carmaker said, making the Chinese company one of its biggest shareholders.

Elon Musk-led Tesla has been raising capital as it readies for the launch of its mass-market Model 3 sedan.

The company raised about $1.2 billion by selling common shares and convertible debt earlier this month.

Musk is Tesla’s top shareholder, with a stake of about 21% as of Dec. 31.Tesla’s shares were up 1.7% at $274.76 in premarket trading on Tuesday.