Billionaire liberal financier George Soros is buying up tens of millions of dollars in Tesla stock as the electric automaker struggles to produce an inexpensive vehicle for the everyday man.
Soros Fund Management purchased $35 million worth of bonds in the company that can be converted into common stock over time, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing released Tuesday. The massive infusion comes as CEO Elon Musk works to restructure Tesla’s upper management.
Tesla, a 15-year-old automaker built around mass-producing electric cars, relies heavily on debt markets to raise money. The Silicon Valley juggernaut raised $1.8 billion in 2017 during its first go-around in the “junk” bond market. Wall Street analysts worry Tesla will have to jump back into that trough if it wants to remain stable.
Storm clouds have gathered over Tesla ever since the Model 3 went into production. Moody’s dropped Tesla’s credit rating in March and changed the company’s outlook to negative as the fledgling Model 3’s production dwindles while the automaker’s financial situation grows dim. (RELATED: ‘Unusual’: Elon Musk Appears To Have Nervous Breakdown During Bizarre Tesla Earnings Call)
The move also comes as one of Soros’s major philanthropic groups gets forced out of Hungary.(RELATED: Hungary Asks Citizens For Advice On How To Take Down George Soros)
Viktor Orban, the country’s nationalist prime minister, said the Hungarian billionaire is an intruder into the country’s domestic politics, which are more and more being painted by Europe’s growing 2015 migrant crisis. Soros backs liberal refugee policies that would allow asylum seekers to settle in Hungary.
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