, Columnist
Tesla Needs Help in China
The car business is changing quickly. And China's government may lead the way.
Still the future?
Photographer: Lam Yik Fei/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The $1.8 billion stake that Tencent Holdings Ltd. has bought in Tesla Inc. should give some confidence to other investors, despite the carmaker's ugly balance sheet. But it's far more important for Tesla's future prospects than for its current needs: Without it, the company could end up a global afterthought in the race to build the next wave of technologically sophisticated cars.
That might seem surprising for a company that's nearly synonymous with the future. But China, the world's largest car market, isn't about to cede its auto industry to foreign entrepreneurs. By partnering with Tencent -- which will get a 5 percent ownership stake in the deal -- Tesla seems to finally be accepting that fact.