REUTERS - Tesla Inc said on Tuesday that Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd has invested $1.78 billion in the electric carmaker for a 5 percent stake.
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 percent as of Dec. 31.
Tesla's shares were up 1.7 percent at $274.76 in premarket trading on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
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