Tesla shares fall 9% as electric car company slashes prices

Elon Musk's firm cuts $2,000 off price of all models in US after Senate reduces green tax credits

Tesla shares fell as much as 9 per cent on Wednesday despite the electric car manufacturer tripling its production numbers.

Investors fled after Elon Musk’s company announced it would cut the price of all of its cars in the US by $2,000 (£1,589) to compensate for a reduction in low-emissions vehicle subsidies.

The move includes the Model 3, the mass market car seen as Tesla’s route to profitability.

Almost 1,000 cars a day are now rolling of Tesla’s production lines, slightly less than analysts had forecast. Total production rose 8 per cent to 86,555 vehicles during the final quarter of 2018 including 61,394 Model 3s. That was up from 29,870 a year earlier.

The cash-guzzling company is under such pressure to hit targets that even the huge rise in production could not satisfy Wall Street.

Elon Musk has reminded potential customers to take advantage of US federal tax breaks which lower the cost of low-emission cars. But under an overhaul of rules introduced by the Republican-controlled Senate the credit has been slashed by half from the start of 2019 and will eventually be cut to zero.

That was predicted to prompt a surge in sales for Tesla as consumers cashed in on the subsidy, but actual deliveries numbers fell slightly short.

A $2,000 reduction would equate to $700m in lost revenue for Tesla if it continues to sell vehicles at the rate it did in the last quarter.

Nicholas Hyett, Equity Analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown said that for most car companies Tesla’s latest results would be “very impressive”

“But unfortunately for Tesla shareholders, the market has come to expect Herculean achievements, and sometimes that means the bar is just that little bit too high.

Deliveries have fallen short of what some analysts had expected and the shares are suffering as a result.

“Longer term we think the price cut is more concerning – it suggests Tesla customers are perhaps a bit more price sensitive than you might have thought.

“You can see why Tesla have made the decision – having got the production lines flying the company needs to ensure there’s demand for its cutting edge technology when they make it off the conveyor belt.”

Tesla shares were down 8 per cent at $305.89 on Wednesday afternoon.

The firm endured a tumultuous 2018 that included Mr Musk being removed from his position as chairman after tweeting that he had "funding secured" to take Tesla private.

It came as part of a series of concessions to settle a government lawsuit alleging that he duped investors with the statement which regulators say was misleading.

Mr Musk said he had decided on the proposed purchase price of $4.20 because of it's significance in marijuana culture.

Shortly after agreeing to pay $20m as part of the settlement, Mr Musk mocked the Securities and exchange commission, labelling it the "shortseller enrichment commission" in reference to those who had bet against his company.