Tesla, founded by billionaire Elon Musk, declined to comment on production numbers for the Model 3, which are expected to be released this week.
The stock briefly pared losses after auto industry blogs - citing an unverified memo - reported that production of the Model 3 passed the 2,000 per week production rate. That would be short of Tesla’s own target of 2,500 per week for the end of March but far above the 793 Model 3s built in the final week of last year.
“Musk himself is focusing time on Model 3 production because it is the “highest priority,” a Tesla spokesman said on Monday, saying that engineering chief Doug Field was focused on vehicle engineering.
no bets on Tesla.
“The only position I’d have on it is short because they aren’t making any money. Their operating losses are growing. The stock’s been overvalued for months,” he said.
Tesla said on Friday that the Model X involved in a fatal crash in California last week had activated its Autopilot system, raising new questions about the semi-autonomous system that handles some driving tasks.
Tesla’s shares closed down $13.65 at $252.48 on Monday, after earlier hitting their lowest level in just over a year. So far in 2018, the shares are down 19 percent, at a time when technology shares have suffered particularly as stock prices fall across the board.