TeslaShares tumbled 5.33% on Thursday after reports that Tesla's car orders in china in may were down nearly half from April.
Tesla's net orders in China fell to about 9800 in May from more than 18000 in April, the report said, citing internal data from Tesla. Earlier, Tesla sold 11671 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in the Chinese market in April, down 67.1 per cent from March, according to the China Federation of passengers.
Musk's electric car company has been grappling with recalls and safety investigations in China. The company also faces a PR backlash in China after some high-profile car crashes, price changes and quality complaints from Chinese customers.
Li Junyi, chief executive of Warren Capital (JL Warren Capital), said that although Tesla had not talked about the potential impact of her public relations crisis in China, she expected the impact to be significant.
"We expect to see a decisive material impact on Tesla's brand, orders and delivery in the coming months, although it is difficult to accurately quantify the extent to which this is due to concerns about Tesla's safety performance," she said. or increased competition from Chinese automakers. "
Mr Li's Warren Capital estimated in a report on June 1st that Tesla's Chinese orders may have fallen by about 30 per cent month-on-month in May, which is not as frightening as the 50 per cent decline, but it is also "catastrophic".
China is Tesla's second-largest market after the US, accounting for about 30 per cent of Tesla's revenue. Tesla's recent growth depends largely on his ability to successfully produce and sell cars in China.