Jan 2, 2019

Tesla disappoints with price cuts and fewer-than-expected deliveries

Cars charge at stations outside of Tesla's factory in Fremont, California. Photo: David Butow/Corbis via Getty Images

Shares of Tesla fell 9% after announcing it delivered 90,700 vehicles in the fourth quarter, fewer than the 92,000 estimated by FactSet, and the company said it would slash the cost of all of its models by $2,000, a buffer for the reduced tax credit for electric vehicles that took effect on Jan. 1. A Tesla spokesperson tells Axios that its deliveries were "roughly in line with Wall Street’s estimates," per its own internal tracking that forecast 91,046 deliveries.

The big picture: The company still delivered three times as many cars as it did in last year’s fourth quarter, as the Wall Street Journal points out. Tesla also boosted production, with 86,555 vehicles in the fourth quarter — 8% more than it did last quarter. Next month, we’ll find out whether that translates into another profitable quarter, when the company reports quarterly results.

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U.S. coronavirus updates

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios. This graphic includes "probable deaths" that New York City began reporting on April 14.

More than 62,300 U.S. health care workers have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and at least 291 have died from the virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Tuesday. COVID-19 had infected about 9,300 health professionals when the CDC gave its last update on April 17.

By the numbers: More than 98,900 people have died from COVID-19 and over 1.6 million have tested positive in the U.S. Over 384,900 Americans have recovered and more than 14.9 million tests have been conducted.

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Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 11:00 p.m. ET: 5,589,626 — Total deaths: 350,453 — Total recoveries — 2,286,956 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 11:00 p.m. ET: 1,680,913 — Total deaths: 98,913 — Total recoveries: 384,902 — Total tested: 14,907,041 — Map.
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  4. Congress: House Republicans to sue Nancy Pelosi in effort to block proxy voting.
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  7. Public health: Coronavirus antibodies could give "short-term immunity," CDC says, but more data is needed— CDC releases guidance on when you can be around others after contracting the virus.
  8. What should I do? When you can be around others after contracting the coronavirus — Traveling, asthma, dishes, disinfectants and being contagious — Masks, lending books and self-isolating — Exercise, laundry, what counts as soap — Pets, moving and personal health — Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — How to minimize your risk.
  9. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it, the right mask to wear.

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World coronavirus updates

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Axios Visuals

There are no COVID-19 patients in hospital in New Zealand, which reported just 21 active cases after days of zero new infections. A top NZ health official said Tuesday he's "confident we have broken the chain of domestic transmission."

By the numbers: Almost 5.5 million people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus as of Tuesday, and more than 2.2 million have recovered. The U.S. has reported the most cases in the world (over 1.6 million from 14.9 million tests).

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