NEW YORK (Reuters) - David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital sold out of its profitable stock holdings in UK telecommunications company Vodafone Group Plc (>> Vodafone Group plc) and German chemical business Evonik Industries AG (>> Evonik Industries AG), according to a letter sent to investors Friday and seen by Reuters.
The letter also noted that the hedge fund firm had established a new "medium-sized long position" in an unnamed utility sector company over the third quarter.
A spokesman for New York-based Greenlight declined to comment.
Greenlight's funds returned 3.4 percent net of fees in the third quarter, bringing the year-to-date return to 3.8 percent, both below stock market benchmarks.
The letter also included a swipe at Elon Musk and his Tesla Motors (>> Tesla Motors Inc), saying that "complacent shareholders have been willing to look past years of over-promising and under-delivering from a promotional CEO."
A spokesman for Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It is not clear if Greenlight has a short position in the electric car company.
(Reporting by Lawrence Delevingne; Editing by Lisa Shumaker, Bernard Orr)
By Lawrence Delevingne