The founder of Oracle, Larry Ellison, is a well-known car collector. One of the top brands he enjoys is the electric carmaker, Tesla. Not only is he a fan of Tesla’s auto models, but he also admires Elon Musk’ innovative visions and goals for the company.
His faith in Musk’s vision has allowed him to put his trust in the company by investing in it. Unfortunately, it seems like Ellison chose a wrong time to support Tela since the automaker’s shares took a dangerous nosedive recently, causing the Oracle founder to lose millions of his investments!
The Worst Timing
According to sources, the Oracle founder revealed he purchased more than 3 million Tesla shares in December 2018, despite the controversies the company faced last year. Ellison believes Tesla still has the power to reverse its fate and recover from the recent losses.
However, it seems the current downtrend tells a different story. Recently, Tesla’s stocks plummeted by a staggering 42%, marking it as the company’s worst performance in the S&P 500 index to date. According to sources, Ellison’s initial $1 billion investment is now only worth $580 million.
The Reasons
According to business experts, a myriad of factors contributed to the sharp decline in Tesla’s stocks. Aside from the controversies Musk faced with the SEC investigation last year, Tesla also shut down many of its dealerships due to the trade tension between China and the United States.
It also forces Tesla to lay off hundreds of its employees, which caused further delays in meeting the company’s production deadline. Despite these roadblocks, Ellison says he remains confident in Tesla’s potential and its ability to turn profits down the road. The Oracle founder reveals he didn’t invest in Tesla purely out of making financial gains.
The Announcement
As Tesla filed their appeal before the SEC, the company shocked the world by announcing Ellison as the new board member. Tesla said they’re happy to have Ellison on board since the Oracle founder is a firm believer of the company’s missions and can offer sound advice to lead the company down a path of success.
Meanwhile, Ellison said in an interview that he’s excited to work alongside Elon Musk to realize their joint mission of providing the auto industry with an affordable clean energy solution. The business mogul believes Tesla still has a lot of potential in the electric vehicle market.
Once Tesla recovers from its lapses and meets its production goals, the company will be back on track. Ellison even says that he wants Musk to repeat the Model 3’s remarkable sold-out performance under his leadership. Back then, Tesla’s cars even out-performed Ford, Honda, GM, and Toyota in terms of sales and revenue.
Ellison’s Wealth Empire
Despite Tesla’s current declining performance, the financial experts say it hardly hurts Ellison’s finances. The business mogul has a staggering $57 billion net worth, hailing him as the 7th richest man on earth, according to Bloomberg.
