Only 10 months after breaking ground on its ‘Gigafactory’ in Shanghai, which is the first completely foreign-owned car plant in the country, Tesla unveiled its first China-made electric vehicles for purchase Monday. Despite hitting this milestone, the company’s stock sunk on speculation the company will miss 2019 delivery expectations when Q4 numbers are released.
The first Model 3s off the line for customers went to 15 employees who received them during a ceremony Monday. Tesla ($TSLA) posted photos of the “happy” gathering on the social media site Weibo. Trial production began in October 2019. Tesla has 36 retail stores and 300 charging stations in China.
Only a day before the Shanghai factory celebrated the new Teslas, Cowen analyst Jeffrey Osborne told clients that he expects Tesla to announce it delivered fewer than expected electric vehicles this year. While Cowan raised the fourth quarter delivery estimate to 101,000 from 95,000, which would put 2019 delivery total at 356,000 vehicles, that number is still “slightly missing” the guidance range of 360,000-400,000 vehicles. Osborne said he had raised Q4 estimates due to strength in the Netherlands and China ahead of subsidy changes.
A note to clients also said, “We continue to see risks to the company’s growth story,” to an expected increase in competition.
Tesla’s stock dropped almost 5 percent Monday, which is its biggest drop in a month, after Cowen’s note became public.
While Tesla’s growth skyrocketed in 2019, it has also raised concerns for investors. The company has faced SEC investigations into founder Elon Musk’s tweets and manufacturing issues for the Model 3..
Nestlé has dismissed its CEO Laurent Freixe after an investigation into an undisclosed relationship with a direct subordinate. The company announced on Monday that the dismissal was effective immediately. An investigation found that Freixe violated Nestlé’s code of conduct. He had been CEO for a year. Philipp Navratil, a longtime Nestlé executive, will replace him. Chairman Paul Bulcke stated that the decision was necessary to uphold the company’s values and governance. Navratil began his career with Nestlé in 2001 and has held various roles, including CEO of Nestlé's Nespresso division since 2024.
Kraft Heinz is splitting into two companies a decade after they joined in a massive merger that created one of the biggest food companies on the planet. One of the companies will include brands such as Heinz, Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Mac & Cheese. The other will include brands like Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables. When the company formed in 2015 it wanted to capitalize on its massive scale, but shifting tastes complicated those plans, with households seeking to introduce healthier options at the table. Kraft Heinz's net revenue has fallen every year since 2020.
About 780,000 pressure washers sold at retailers like Home Depot are being recalled across the U.S. and Canada, due to a projectile hazard that has resulted in fractures and other injuries among some consumers.
