Tesla falls after Musk fails to dazzle

Tesla Motors Inc. shares dropped to their lowest level in more than two months after last night’s unveiling of an all-wheel drive Model S and driver-assisting tools.

Chief executive officer Elon Musk had created a buzz around the event by tweeting about it on Oct. 1. The debut of the newest Tesla electric car went “largely as expected,” and that could potentially “take some wind out of the sails” of the more bullish investors, Bank of America wrote. The updates in part show that Tesla is playing “catch-up” with its competitors, it said.

The shares declined 7.8 percent to $236.91 at the close in New York, the lowest price since Aug. 1. Tesla has risen more than 57 percent this year.

Tesla’s Model S electric car will be offered with all-wheel drive capability and safety features including driver-assisting tools intended to prevent crashes, such as lane-keep assist and cruise control that adjusts to the speed of traffic. Those updates might not have lived up to the “massive” speculation ahead of the unveiling, Ben Kallo of Robert W. Baird said in a note.

Musk said the dual-motors accelerate the new Model S from zero to 97 kilometers per hour in 3.2 seconds. The all-wheel drive design aligns Tesla against luxury brands including Bayerische Motoren Werke AG’s BMW, Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz and Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus. (Bloomberg)