Elon Musk's Call For 'Epic' Q4 At Risk As Tesla Reportedly Trims China-Made Model Y Production In Dec By 20%

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) has reportedly trimmed production at its China plant in December, casting a cloud on its performance during the final quarter of the year.

What Happened: Tesla trimmed the December Model Y output rolling out of its Giga Shanghai plant by more than 20% from November levels, Reuters said, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The media outlet said the reason thereof couldn’t be ascertained.

The report comes against the backdrop of China partially lifting COVID-19 curbs following widespread backlash from the public.

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Even amid strict lockdowns in October and November, the electric vehicle giant did not hint at any production disruption.

Tech giant Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), meanwhile, warned of production shortfalls of its high-end iPhone Pro models after its supplier Hon Hai Precision Manufacturing Company Limited’s (OTC: HNHPF) main iPhone assembly unit in Zhengzhou was impacted.

After the China COVID-19 lockdowns in March-April hurt production in the second quarter, Tesla came back strongly in the September quarter. The company was still trailing against its long-term delivery growth target of over 50%.

CEO Elon Musk said in the company’s third-quarter earnings call that he was is looking forward to a record-breaking fourth quarter. “Knock on wood, it looks like we'll have an epic end of year,” he added.

Price Action: Tesla shares closed Friday’s session 0.08% higher at $194.86, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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