Tesla stocks have sunk to a five-month low as China has apparently blocked the sale of imported model 3 cars. Reuters reports that officials in Shanghai reported “various irregularities” in 1600 Tesla Model vehicles that were set for delivery to China. The cited irregularities involved improper labeling and Tesla reported to Reuters that the irregularities were the result of a printing error. According to China’s Caixin Global, “Some of the vehicles had no Chinese labels on brake fluid tanks, while some demonstrated a real motor capacity that differed from the one on the label.”
Despite the apparent simplicity of the printing error, Tesla has already payed a cost in terms of their stocks, which fell by 5.2% as of Tuesday morning. For their part, Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory has suggested that they could offset any slowing of demand in the U.S. Tesla broke ground at that Shanghai site earlier this year, and it could also prove invaluable in avoiding losses resulting from the current U.S.-China trade war.
