Tesla will be running fixes on around 80,000 vehicles in China to deal with possible battery and seat-belt related issues, the country's market regulator announced Friday. Tesla stock edged lower Friday.
The EV giant will run wireless software updates on 67,698 imported Model S and Model X Tesla vehicles produced between Sept. 25, 2013, and Nov. 21, 2020, China's State Administration for Market Regulation said. The over-the-air fixes on these vehicles are for software issues that may lead to battery troubles. What's more, the battery issue could lead the vehicles to stop unexpectedly.
Like most Tesla fixes, the matter was officially labeled a recall, but did not require most vehicles to visit repair facilities. The company is also recalling around 13,000 Model 3 vehicles, 2,736 imported and 10,127 made in China, for seat-belt issues, the Wall Street Journal reported.
On Thursday, CEO Elon Musk tweeted that Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta is now available in North America. FSD, which costs North American drivers $15,000, is an extension of Tesla's Autopilot. It includes assisted steering on highways and city driving, automatic parking along with traffic light and stop signs recognition.
In addition, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating Autopilot and FSD safety. The Justice Department reportedly is conducting a criminal probe of Tesla's self-driving claims.
Tesla Stock
Tesla stock rose more than 2% early Friday before dropping 0.2% to 182.86 during market trading. On Wednesday, shares jumped 7.8% to 183.20, rebounding from Tuesday's bear market lows as Citigroup upgraded the EV giant from a sell to a hold.
TSLA shares remain down around 20% in November, but poised for what could be their first weekly gain in four weeks, leading analysts and investors to speculate on a possible upturn. The stock has roughly halved in 2022.
The Wednesday Citi research note followed Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas writing late Tuesday that Tesla stock "is approaching our $150 bear case, driven by price cuts in China, decelerating EV demand and other market currents (Twitter, Crypto?)"
Jonas did not change his overweight rating, equivalent to a buy rating, and $330 price target on Tesla stock. The analyst expects Tesla revenue will grow 37% in 2023, the equivalent of 1.8 million units, with around $15 billion in free-cash-flow.
"All other pure play EV OEMs we cover burn substantial amounts of cash, on our forecasts," Jonas wrote.
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