Tesla shares higher as Oracle boss Larry Ellison discloses $1bn stake in electric car maker

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) saw its shares rise in pre-market New York trading, extending a strong rally on Monday after the boss of Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ:ORCL), Larry Ellison disclosed that he has a $1bn stake in the electric car maker.

The holding by Ellison, a long-time friend of Tesla chief executive officer Elon Musk, was revealed in a filing with the US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).

READ: Tesla misses 4Q vehicle delivery estimates, slashes prices of all models

Tesla named Ellison and an executive from Walgreens to its board in December as part of a settlement with regulators who demanded more oversight of the car maker’s CEO.

In early August last year, the SEC accused Musk of securities fraud after he said in a tweet that he had “funding secured” to take the electric car company private at $420 per share, a claim he later back-pedalled on.

The US securities regulator accepted the beefing-up of Tesla’s board and $20mln in penalties to settle the case.

In October, Ellison – the world’s ninth-richest person with a net worth of $51.4bn – said Tesla was his second-largest investment, but gave no further details.

In pre-market New York trading, Tesla shares were 1.9% higher at $341.20 each having gained over 5% on Monday.

Deliveries disappointed last week

Tesla shares fell sharply last  week after its fourth-quarter deliveries fell short of Wall Street expectations.

The company delivered a total of 90,7000 vehicles, including 63,150 Model 3s, 13,500 Model S sedans, and 14,050 Model X SUVs.

Analysts had expected to see 64,900 Model 3 deliveries, 14,200 for the Model S and 13,600 for the Model X, according to consensus estimates.

Story by ProactiveInvestors