Tesla falls on Musk tweet saying Hertz deal not signed yet

By MATT OTT
AP Business Writer

SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — Shares of Tesla Inc. tumbled almost 4% in midday trading on Tuesday after its CEO and founder Elon Musk tweeted that a contract to sell 100,000 cars to Hertz had not been signed, suggesting the deal had not been finalized. Shortly after the market close Monday, an account called “Tesla Silicon Valley Club” tweeted an image of a graph showing Tesla’s 8.5% gain that day and thanked Musk. Musk replied: “You’re welcome! If any of this is based on Hertz, I’d like to emphasize that no contract has been signed yet.” Hertz said on Tuesday that its plans haven’t changed.