Investors in leading electric car maker Tesla got a shock yesterday when its shares plummeted by more than 10%.
The slide of 11.55% to $829.10 also dragged down the value of rivals.
The slump came after Tesla delayed releasing new vehicles until next year because of supply-chain disruptions it said could last through this year.
The US company's share price is now down about a third from its record high of over $1,200 last November.
Reuters reported that chief executive Elon Musk said in a quarterly conference call that Tesla would not launch new models like Cybertruck this year because it would dent volume growth in the face of supply-chain headwinds that would only be alleviated next year.
He said the company would focus on ramping up volume of existing models in 2022 by more than 50% rather than launching new ones.
The warning bodes ill for legacy car makers and start-ups which have promised new electric vehicle (EV) models in coming months.
"Tesla is even having trouble. Other EV firms are not going to be able to produce these vehicles as fast as they want," said Curzio Research chief executive Frank Curzio, adding that the volume growth of many new models could be pushed into 2023.
FTSE 100
Yesterday was another bad day for America's technology-laden Nasdaq Composite Index, which finished down 1.4% at 13,352.78.
Meanwhile, on this side of the Atlantic, the UK's top share index saw big swings on Thursday. The FTSE 100 got off to a bad start, but still managed to finish the day ahead more than 80 points at 7,554.31.
The index was slightly in the red early today - down just over 14 points at 7,539.99 just after the market opened.
Companies reporting today
- Trading update: Paragon Banking
- Other updates: Insolvency Service releases personal and company insolvency figures for fourth quarter of 2021