Tesla Tanks As Largest Outside Shareholder Cuts Position

Tesla shares are selling off amid a broader dump in the Nasdaq, on news that the company’s largest outside shareholder, Baillie Gifford, is reducing its position in the company. Baillie Gifford said it was paring its holdings because the position had become “outsized” in the company’s portfolio, according to CNBC. 

An SEC filing confirmed that Baillie Gifford now owns less than 5% of Tesla, down from 6.32% that it owned during its prior disclosure. Baillie Gifford spokesman James Anderson said: “The substantial increase in Tesla’s share price means that we needed to reduce our holding in order to reflect concentration guidelines which restrict the weight of a single stock in clients’ portfolios.”

He continued: “However, we intend to remain significant shareholders for many years ahead. We remain very optimistic about the future of the company. Tesla no longer faces any difficulty in raising capital at scale from outside sources but should there be serious setbacks in the share price we would welcome the opportunity to once again increase our shareholding.”

In morning trading on Wednesday, Tesla shares briefly touched $405 per share, down as much as 25% from its all time highs hit… yesterday. The company’s $75 per share plunge would have been a remarkable $375 sell off days ago, prior to Tesla’s split. 

As a result, the company’s market cap is now more than $100 billion lower than its recent all time highs, having dropped as much as $120 billion from its all time high reached just Tuesday morning.