Tesla Inc. shares are back on the rise after the electric-car maker resumed production at its China factory with the help of the Shanghai government.
The stock advanced as much as eight per cent shortly after the start of regular trading Monday, after Tesla’s plant restarted operations on the earliest date permitted by government officials who have been trying to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Tesla has gained at least 10 per cent each of the last three weeks, adding about US$43 billion to its market capitalization.
Shanghai government officials said during a briefing Saturday that it would make all efforts to help key companies including Tesla return to normal production. Tesla shares lost some steam toward the end of last week after analysts at RBC Capital Markets and Canaccord Genuity warned that the shutdown of the factory posed risk to its business plans, including a target for at least 500,000 vehicle deliveries in 2020.
Automakers including Volkswagen AG, Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. have meanwhile extended shutdowns, with several of their China factories now scheduled to resume production no sooner than Feb. 17.
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