Tesla shares slide after sell rating

Detroit Free Press - Shares of Tesla Motors, the electric-car maker, fell as much as 6.9% Wednesday after a Wunderlich Securities analyst cut his rating to sell, saying the company probably will reduce third-quarter production of the Model S sedan.

The shares slid 3.6% to $32.15 in New York after earlier falling to $31.06. Tesla declined 7.3% Tuesday, its biggest decline since April 4.

Tesla will pare third-quarter output of the Model S from 1,000 to 500, Theodore O'Neill, a Wunderlich analyst wrote in a report, citing the company. O'Neill lowered his 18-month target price from $49 a share to $28. The analyst had recommended buying the stock.

"Tesla wants to be sure the cars are right, and apparently they are not in a position to ramp up to get to 1,000 units this quarter," O'Neill wrote. "While the company is sticking to its 5,000-unit forecast for 2012, how it gets there becomes a second issue for it to resolve."