Updated at 11:27 AM EST
Tesla () - stocks fell on Monday as reports that CEO Elon Musk is nearing its closing due to his $43 billion acquisition of Twitter () - and officials in Shanghai extended their Covid lockdown to a fourth week.
The Wall Street Journal claims that Twitter is in. Bloomberg reports that the transaction might be announced as early as today.
Musk has received a 'best and last' offer for Twitter, which relates to his current 173 million in Tesla shares, of which 88 million are pledged against various personal loans. Nevertheless, Musk is likely to offload billions in Tesla stock in order to reach his suggested contribution of $20 to $30 billion.
A successful Twitter purchase would pose a significant challenge over the billionaire's growing leadership, which includes SpaceX, The Boring Company, and neurotechnology specialists Neuralink Corp.
Tesla shares were marked 0.3 percent lower in early trading Monday, putting their hands at $1,000.79 each, a move that has reintroduced the stock to new highs just after the last week.
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Shanghai reported 51 Covid fatalities yesterday, the highest total of the year so far, with total new infections reaching 19,500.
Officials are planning to extend the harsh lockdown restrictions until the next month.
In response to China's 'zero Covid' crackdown, Tesla said quarter deliveries should be flat or "perhaps slightly lower" compared to the first three months of the year. In part, the Shanghai gigiafactory, which made around half of the company's cars last year.
Shanghai reported 51 Covid fatalities yesterday, the highest total of the year so far, with total new infections starting at 19.500.
Tesla reported higher-than-expected first quarter earnings last week as well as record sales, with Musk advising investors there was a "reasonable squeeze" for deliveries to increase 60% from last year, partly due to the expansion of production facilities in Berlin and Austin.
"I think notwithstanding the new concerns, I expect Giga Shanghai to produce a record amount per week this quarter, albeit we are missing a few weeks," Musk said in a conference call last week. "So this means that most likely vehicle production in Q2 will be comparable to Q1, which is, hopefully, somewhat lower."
"It's also possible that we pull a rabbit out of the hat and be slightly higher, but it should be roughly on par. However, both Q3 and Q4 will be substantially higher.
