Tencent is still banking on Tesla, despite Musk’s Twitter controversies
Tencent is a Chinese multinational conglomerate holding company founded in 1998, with a diverse range of businesses, including internet-related services and products, entertainment, artificial intelligence, and technology. Tesla, Inc. is an American multinational corporation that specializes in electric vehicles, energy storage, and solar panel manufacturing based on an integrated sustainable energy approach.
In March 2017, Tencent Holdings Limited acquired a 5% stake in Tesla, becoming one of the company's largest shareholders. The investment was part of a funding round in which Tesla raised $1.4 billion. The two companies have also reportedly been in talks to collaborate on developing autonomous driving technology. While Tesla has developed its own autonomous driving technology, Tencent's expertise in artificial intelligence and computer vision could potentially be used to enhance Tesla's systems further.
Fast forward to today: David Wallerstein, chief “eXploration” officer at Tencent, has voiced Tencent’s trust that Tesla will continue to impress, regardless of its CEO’s recent string of controversies. Some have accused Musk as buying Twitter as a “distraction” to the problems brewing at Tesla.
Elon Musk has recently spoken out against US government tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, calling them “not good” and market-distorting.