Tesla Inc. shares dropped further on Thursday after The Information reported that the Silicon Valley electric-car maker’s vehicle orders in China fell by nearly half in May compared with April, citing internal data. Tesla has faced a backlash in China in recent months over how it handled consumer concerns about the safety and quality of its cars, and also has had to grapple with more competition from Chinese EV makers such as Nio Inc. Last month, the China Passenger Car Association said that Tesla sold 25,845 made-in-China vehicles, and while a year-on-year comparison wasn’t available, that represented a Tesla’s sales drop of 27% from March, and worse than the 12% month-on-month decline in overall electric vehicle sales. Shares of Tesla have dropped 17% this year and gained 230% in the past 12 months, which compares with gains of 12% and 34% for the S&P 500 index in these same periods.
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