Tesla to Continue “Blowing Our Minds” with Technological Advancements Despite CEO’s Distraction with Twitter, Says Tencent Executive

According to the executive who led an investment from the Chinese technology giant Tencent into the U.S. electric carmaker Tesla, Tesla will “keep blowing our minds” with technological advancements even while CEO Elon Musk is distracted with Twitter. This prediction was made by the executive who led the investment.

In 2017, Tencent, which is recognized as one of the top gaming and social media companies in the world, invested in Tesla by purchasing a 5% interest for around $1.78 billion.

“We saw a huge potential in the company, the category of EVs (electric vehicles), but also a huge amount of respect for the way Elon was driving the company,” David Wallerstein, the chief “eXploration” officer (CXO) at Tencent, said in an interview with CNBC on Thursday that the company had a “huge amount of respect for the way Elon was driving the company.”

Wallerstein, in his role as CXO of Tencent, is responsible for the company’s investments in developing technology.

When Tencent invested, “it wasn’t so certain that they were going to survive and that EVs were going to survive,” he added.

Since then, Tesla has grown to become one of the biggest electric vehicle manufacturers in the world. In the year 2022, it delivered 1.31 million automobiles.

However, Musk acquired Twitter in December 2017, which was seen by investors as a major distraction for the billionaire at a time when Tesla need a steady hand. Over the last year, Tesla stock has lost almost 62% of its value.

Wallerstein said that despite the diversion, he continues to have faith in Tesla.

“Without a doubt, it is difficult to concentrate on one thing when a CEO is distracted across several organizations, and Elon has a lot of other initiatives. Wallerstein was quoted as saying, “I believe they’re still doing a terrific job.”

As the number of sales of electric cars increases, he went on to say that there would probably be multiple rivals, but that this will “be extremely wonderful for the world.”

Wallerstein is quoted as saying, “I would depend on them to continue blowing our minds with what it is that they accomplish with technology.”

From video games to online shopping, Tencent is active in a wide variety of business sectors as a significant investor. However, the corporation recently parted ways with some of its shareholdings in light of China’s increasingly stringent regulatory climate.

Wallerstein, on the other hand, is on the lookout for investments in industries of the future generation that may be of assistance in the battle against global concerns such as climate change. Tencent has made investments in many enterprises, including the Chinese manufacturer of electric vehicles Nio, and the German manufacturer of “flying” cars Lilium.