Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock is in full focus today after George Soros’ Soros Fund Management reported purchasing a new stake in the company. During the second quarter, the fund bought 29,883 shares of TSLA stock, equivalent to a 0.36% portfolio allocation. After the purchase, Tesla is now the fund’s 61st largest position out of 271 total positions.
Meanwhile, Rivian (NASDAQ:RIVN) is still Soros’ largest position with an 8.18% allocation. However, the fund manager did sell off 2 million shares during the quarter. He also sold off all call options against 6.04 million shares of RIVN stock.
Soros Fund Management has an average holding period of 3.56 quarters for stocks in its 13F portfolio.
TSLA Stock: George Soros Buys Shares
Soros’ purchase comes before Tesla’s date of record for its 3-for-1 stock split, which will occur tomorrow. Shareholders of record will receive two additional shares in the form of a dividend after the market closes on Aug. 24. Tesla cited accessibility of shares as its main reason for the split. This certainly makes sense, as retail investors own more than 45% of TSLA stock outstanding. Tesla last split shares in 2020, sending its stock more than 80% higher from the time of the announcement to the actual split.
Why exactly did Soros buy TSLA stock? Well, the move is not really a big surprise. Tesla is the clear leader in the electric vehicle (EV) market. In the first half of 2022, the company boasted a 68% market share in the U.S. EV market. In 2021, that figure stood even higher at 69.95%.
Although a market share loss of nearly 2% is not ideal, Tesla’s numbers are still impressive when you consider other EV makers saw U.S. deliveries rise by 58% in the first half of 2022. Tesla makes four of the five top-selling EVs in the States, with the Model Y coming in first. Established automaker Ford (NYSE:F) commands only one spot on the list.
Tesla also has a robust production process while rivals like Rivian and Lucid (NASDAQ:LCID) still struggle to work their way up. During earnings, CEO Elon Musk said Tesla’s Berlin factory exceeded 1,000 EVs per week in June. The new Texas factory is expected to exceed 1,000 cars per week in the coming months as well. Meanwhile, Lucid expects to produce between 6,000 and 7,000 vehicles this year. Rivian expects to produce 25,000 vehicles.
On the date of publication, Eddie Pan did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
