Saudi Arabia's wealth fund sold nearly all its Tesla shares before the carmaker's recent 112% surge

REUTERS/Steve NesiusElon Musk.

• Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund sold nearly all of its massive Tesla position in the fourth quarter, before the stock surged 112%, Bloomberg reported.
• The fund previously held 8.2 million shares - now it's down to 39,151.
• In 2018 Musk named the wealth fund as a source of funding for the company's short-lived bid to go private.
• Watch Tesla trade live on Markets Insider.
• Read more on Business Insider.

Among investors wishing they had held on to more Tesla stock in 2020: Saudi Arabia.

The country's sovereign wealth fund sold nearly all of its shares in the electric automaker last quarter, Bloomberg reported.

But since the sale, shares have surged even higher: Tesla rallied, on strong earnings and a price target bump from the company's biggest bull, 112% since the start of the year as of Tuesday's market close.

After previously holding over 8.2 million shares, Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund pared its position back to a mere 39,151 shares in the fourth quarter, according to a regulatory filing. The fund likely did not miss out completely on Tesla's bull run: Shares rose throughout the fourth quarter.

The sale marks a striking shift, particularly for a fund that Elon Musk said would provide the funding for Tesla to go private in 2018. The claims, which began on Twitter, quickly drew scrunity of the Securities and Exchange Commission, which sued the CEO. In addition to a fine of $20 million, the SEC required in its settlement with Musk that an "experienced securities lawyer" preapprove his tweets about Tesla's business.

Where Tesla shares will go next has become the talk of markets this week. The surge has squeezed short-sellers, but also drawn its fair share of critics: Traders, analysts, and politicians have said in recent days that the run-up is bound to come tumbling down.

Tesla shares traded down as much as 15.2% Wednesday, before paring losses.

NOW WATCH: 62 new emoji and emoji variations were just finalized, including a bubble tea emoji and a transgender flag. Here's how everyday people submit their own emoji.