'Dunno where this bs came from': Elon Musk slams claims that Tesla Model 3 cancellations are outpacing deposits (TSLA)

elon musk

Elon Musk took to Twitter on Thursday night to defend Tesla after a New York investment bank downgraded the electric car company's shares that morning.
The firm suggested Tesla Model 3 cancellations are outpacing orders.
Musk responded with a tweet calling the suggestion 'bs' and then gave specific order numbers.

Tesla, CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter on Thursday night to dispute rumors that Model 3 cancellations are outpacing orders. The move came after Needham & Co., a New York-based investment bank, downgraded Tesla shares from hold to sell.

Needham's report, which included several reasons for taking a bearish position on Tesla, specifically cited, "slower sales of Model S/X on increased competition, possible cannibalization from Model 3 and expiration of credits."

Replying to a Tweet by a fellow Twitter user about Needhan's suggestion that Tesla's cancellations are outpacing orders, Musk said, "Dunno where this bs came from. Who knows about the future, but last week we had over 2000 S/X and 5000 Model 3 *new* net orders."

It is not uncommon for Musk to engage combatively on Twitter, or defend Tesla's Model 3 production rate. The electric car company was under deep scrutiny by investors to hit a 5,000 per week production goal at the end of the second quarter last month, which the company achieved. By revealing the amount of order numbers on Thursday for Model S, Model X, and Model 3 cars, Musk gave the public a rare look into Tesla's behind-the-scenes data.

Recently, Tesla hit its 200,000th sale in the US, which means the company's $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit has expired and will begin to phase-out next year and will go away in January 2020.

CNBC reports, when asked for a comment, a Tesla spokesperson said, "The notion that Model 3 cancellations are outpacing orders is unequivocally wrong.”

Dunno where this bs is coming from. Who knows about the future, but last week we had over 2000 S/X and 5000 Model 3 *new* net orders.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 20, 2018