Tesla announced last week that it would suspend production at its California factory as the state locked down to deal with the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Tesla is also bringing its China factory back online as the coronavirus crisis eases there, meaning that it could make up for lost US revenue.Tesla announced last week that it would shut down all but essential operations at its factory in Fremont, California, just a few hours before Gov. Gavin Newsom effectively locked down the entire state to combat the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.
The US car business hasn't faced anything like this, ever. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and then during 2008-09 financial crisis, the plants kept running. World War II found Detroit repurposing car-making to build tanks and planes for the troops, but again, the lines kept moving.You could look at Tesla, with its still-growing electric-car operations and see a uniquely vulnerable company.
GM, Ford, and FCA, on the other hand, have been steadily profitable for the past five years, amid a sales boom in the US that's witnessed a market at record- or near-record levels. That streak could be broken for the first quarter, and when big automakers start losing money, their balance sheets are tested.