Tesla says Model 3 refunds not outpacing deposits

(Reuters) - Tesla Inc denied on Thursday that refunds of bookings of its Model 3 sedan were now outpacing reservations, responding to a report earlier in the day by a Wall Street brokerage citing channel checks on the electric carmaker.

"The notion that Model 3 cancellations are outpacing orders is unequivocally false," a Tesla spokesperson told Reuters.

Needham & Co analyst Rajvindra Gill wrote in a client note earlier on Thursday: "In August '17, TSLA cited that the refund rate was 12 percent. Almost a year later, we believe the refund rate has doubled and outpaced deposits."

Shares in Tesla fell as much as 3 percent in early deals on Thursday before recovering to trade just 0.3 percent lower by 2.05 p.m. EDT.

 

(Reporting by Sonam Rai in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham)