Tesla Shares Fall to Fresh Two-Year Low Over China Production Pause

By Will Feuer

Shares of Tesla Inc. fell about 9% in morning trading to its lowest point in more than two years after the company suspended car production at its Shanghai plant on Saturday.

The stock traded as low as $112.23 a share on Tuesday. Shares are down about 68% this year and more than 41% lower this month, on pace for the stock's worst month on record.

The stock is on pace for its lowest close since September 2020.

The decline comes after The Wall Street Journal reported that Tesla extended a planned eight-day production halt at its Shanghai plant, its largest worldwide factory by car output.

The decision to extend the work halt comes as Tesla faces a wave of Covid-19 infections among its workers and suppliers, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The temporary halt follows a recent slowdown in global demand for Tesla vehicles amid higher interest rates.

Tesla is also facing increased competition from traditional auto makers, which are growing their capacity to produce electric vehicles.

The decline also comes after Chief Executive Elon Musk sold billions in Tesla stock earlier this month. Mr. Musk has sold more than $39 billion of Tesla stock since the company's market capitalization peaked.

He has pointed to his Twitter Inc. involvement in explaining some of those sales. The billionaire bought the social-media company in a deal valued at $44 billion in October, with Twitter taking on roughly $13 billion in debt in the process. He said he wouldn't sell more Tesla shares through next year.

Write to Will Feuer at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 27, 2022 11:38 ET (16:38 GMT)

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