Oracle founder Larry Ellison reveals billion-dollar stake in Tesla

The founder of software giant Oracle has disclosed a stake in the US' most shorted public company Tesla, worth approximately $1bn (£784.1m).

The news, published in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), comes after Larry Ellison joined Tesla's board in December.

Ellison is a long-time friend of Musk, and is currently the world's ninth-richest person on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index with a net worth of $51.4bn. Musk, on the other hand, is in 29th place.

Musk was forced to step down from his position as the electric vehicle manufacturer's chairman in November as part of a settlement deal with the SEC, which saw him replaced by current chair Robyn Denholm.

Ellison and Walgreens executive Kathleen Wilson-Thompson were added to Tesla's board a month later, as Musk attempted to prove his firm has effective levels of independent oversight.

The regulator took issue with a plan by Musk to take the firm private in August last year, when he tweeted that he had "funding secured" for a buyback scheme at $420 per share. The tweet caused Tesla's share price to swing wildly, and remains the most shorted public firm in the US with more than 20 per cent of its float being bet against by investors.

He later abandoned the buyout plans, and alongside Tesla, paid $20m (£16m) in fines.

The Tesla billionaire said in December that he intends to retire the role of chairman at the electric car manufacturer in three years time, claiming the title is "honorific", and "not needed to run Tesla".

Ellison previously revealed he had amassed a stake in Tesla in October, calling it his second-largest investment.