- Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the automaker will reimburse customers if delivery delays cause them to miss out on tax breaks.
- On Sunday, the electric-car maker said it was lowering the price of certain Model 3 sedans in China by up to 7.6%, according to a report.
- It was the third time in the last two months that Tesla cut prices in China
- Tesla’s stock was down more than 6% early Monday
- Watch Tesla trade live.
Tesla shares were sliding Monday morning, down 6.17% at $300.63, after CEO Elon Musk said the company would reimburse customers if production delays caused them to miss out on tax breaks and after the company lowered prices in China for the third time in the last two months.
In a tweet on Saturday, Musk said, “If Tesla committed delivery & customer made good faith efforts to receive before year end, Tesla will cover the tax credit difference.” Earlier this year, the company said any orders made by October 15 would be delivered by the end of the year and eligible for a $7,500 tax credit. The tax credit drops to $3,750 next year.
On Sunday, the electric-car maker said on its Chinese website on Sunday that it had dropped the price of certain Model 3 sedans by as much as 7.6%, Reuters reports. The starting price for Tesla’s mass-market vehicle in China is now 499,000 Chinese yuan ($72,000).
In November, Tesla announced price cuts for its Model S and Model X vehicles in China by between 12% and 26% as a way to offset the impact of tariffs enacted in the US-China trade war. And earlier this month, the automaker cut prices on those models again after the Chinese government temporarily removed the additional 25% tariff that was levied against US autos as part of the trade spat.
Tesla’s stock has been on a roller-coaster ride in 2018. Shares rallied to more than $387 a share in early August after CEO Elon Musk tweeted he was considering taking the company private at $420 a share. They fell to less than $250 by the middle of October, shortly after Musk settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission following allegations that he made “false and misleading statements.” As part of the settlement, Musk neither admitted to nor denied the allegations, agreed to pay a $20 million fine, and stepped aside as Tesla’s chairman for at least three years.
Tesla was up 0.78% this year through Friday.
