The share price of Tesla dropped more than $100 in just two days amid a broader market sell-off fueled by coronavirus concerns. Despite the drop, Tesla’s market cap is still greater than that of General Motors, Ford and Fiat-Chrysler combined.
Tesla shares took a hit mid-day Tuesday as the National Transportation Safety Board criticized the company’s Autopilot systems and attitude towards safety at a hearing in Washington D.C.
The NTSB said Autopilot inadequacies were one factor that led to a fatal Model X crash outside of Mountain View, California in 2018.
In that crash, Apple engineer Walter Huang was driving his Model X with Autopilot engaged, apparently distracted by a game on his work-issued mobile phone. The Tesla Autopilot system failed to keep the Model X in its highway lane, failed to monitor and alert the driver to take over manually, and the car’s collision avoidance systems also failed, according to the NTSB report. Huang’s Model X crashed into a barrier, then was hit by two other vehicles before its battery pack ignited.
Now, questions are looming around the impacts of the virus to Tesla’s operations and supply chain in China and beyond. In its annual filing, published on February 13, Tesla at least acknowledged single-source suppliers and health epidemics as material risks to its business.
Source: cnbc
