Tesla shareholder Baillie Gifford has just increased its stake in the electric car maker, according to a regulatory filing Friday.
U.K.-based investment management firm Baillie Gifford & Co., Tesla’s second-largest institutional shareholder, bought 108,931 of the company’s shares during the fourth quarter, according to the filing and data compiled by FactSet.
It now owns just over 13.2 million shares valued at roughly $4 billion. Its stake increased from 7.64 percent at the end of the third quarter to 7.71 percent as of Dec. 31.
A partner at the U.K.-based investment management firm praised Tesla CEO Elon Musk back in October, and said the firm “would be willing to back him” if Musk needed more capital.
Investors have kept a close eye on Tesla’s cash position. The company has had to go to markets several times since its 2010 IPO to fund its ambitious plans to rapidly scale batter and auto production.
However Musk had said in recent months he expects Tesla to be profitable and cash-flow positive starting in the third quarter of 2018. So far, Tesla has hit that target, delivering two profitable quarters in a row for the first time in its history as a public company.
Neither Tesla nor Baillie Gifford were immediately available for comment.
