Tesla fails to hold the key $300 level
- Tesla has given up its early gains.
- Shares hit almost $310 apiece early Monday, but have fallen back below the key $300 level.
Tesla has slumped back below a key level, setting up the possibility of further weakness.
Shares got off to a strong start Monday, racing to nearly $310 apiece before rolling over. The early strength came despite the electric-car maker announcing it would recall a total of 8,898 Model S cars in China due to faulty bolts that could corrode after contact with road salt.
But shares were unable to hold onto their gains, and have slid back below key resistance at the $300 level. That area had acted as support over nuch of the past year before the recent barrage of bad news finally caused support to give way.
Last week, Tesla announced Model 3 deliveries which were below Wall Street estimates. The company has been mired in "production hell" as it tries to ramp up output of its mass-market vehicle.
The automaker has also seen its bonds come under pressure as a result of Moody's downgrading its corporate rating for Tesla due to those production issues.
Additionally, in late March, a Tesla Model X operating on Autopilot suffered a fatal crash, and days later CEO Elon Musk tweeted a joke about his company going bankrupt, sending shares tumbling.
Tesla is down about 8% this year.