Daimler AG will book a $780 million windfall from the sale of its four percent stake in U.S. electric car maker Tesla Motors, a move late on Tuesday that surprised investors and fuelled speculation of a growing rivalry.The maker of Mercedes-Benz cars invested in Tesla in 2009 as a way of securing cutting edge battery technology. Tesla currently provides technology for the electric version of Mercedes Benz B-class cars and Smart cars.Daimler has said that cooperation deal remains intact, arguing the shareholding was not necessary for it to continue working with the California-based firm. Tesla has not commented on the sale or future collaboration.Analysts, though, said the sale could be read as a sign that the once-close partners now saw each other as rivals in the increasingly competitive electric car market.
Tesla Motors, Inc. (Tesla) designs, develops, manufactures and sells electric vehicles and advanced electric vehicle powertrain components. Shares of TSLA traded higher by 2.11% or $4.87/share to $235.34. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $116.10 and as high as $291.42. On average, 6020740 shares of TSLA exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 4132950.
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