Tesla Share Price Drops Steeply as Probe Into Autopilot Crashes Opens

Summary:

The US government has opened an official probe into several autocrashes involving Tesla's autopiloted cars, prompting a selloff in the Tesla share price.

This Monday, the Tesla share price action opened steeply to the downside after U.S. auto safety regulators opened a formal safety probe into Tesla’s autopilot systems. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that it was looking into 11 crashes that occurred since January 2018 it had identified 11 crashes in which Tesla models struck emergency vehicles in first responder activity.

Tesla Inc is yet to respond to the statement. However, CEO Elon Musk had previously defended the technology, saying its driver-assistance systems were not for standalone use.

However, the NHTSA insisted that all Tesla models identified in the incidents were all confirmed to be on autopilot or Traffic Aware Cruise Control before the crashes.

The Tesla share price is down 4.76% as of writing.

Tesla Share Price Outlook

The steep drop in the Tesla share price daily candle has breached support at 693.75, but now tests the combined support formed by the ascending trendline and the 668.60 support (25 June/!3 July low).

A breakdown of this area allows 628.76 to come into the mix as the potential new target to the south. 600.84 and 564.57 are also likely candidates if the price decline is extensive.

On the other hand, a bounce on the 668.60 support allows for a retest of 693.75. Continuing advance in the Tesla share price also brings in 725.47 and 743.70 as potential upside targets.