Tesla's stock is headed for its worst month, quarter and year on record

Tesla's selloff intensified connected Tuesday, with the banal dropping different 8%. Elon Musk's electrical car institution is days distant from closing retired its worst month, 4th and twelvemonth connected grounds and has moved past Meta to go the worst-performing banal successful 2022 among the astir invaluable tech companies.

The latest driblet comes aft the Wall Street Journal reported that Tesla volition proceed a week-long accumulation halt astatine its Shanghai facility, facing a caller onslaught of Covid cases wrong its Chinese workforce.

Tesla performance, year-to-date

Reuters reported that erstwhile Tesla's Shanghai works reopens successful January, it volition bash truthful for conscionable 17 days, successful a interruption from Tesla's established practices. Shanghai has been battered by a caller question of Covid infections this month.

Tesla shares person fallen implicit 70% from their grounds precocious successful November 2021. The banal is down implicit 68% successful 2022, astir treble the diminution successful the Nasdaq. Among large car makers, Ford is down 45% and General Motors has fallen 43%. Since its IPO successful 2010, Tesla has lone fallen successful 1 different year, an 11% driblet successful 2016.

For the period of December, Tesla has plunged 43%, by acold its worst period ever, arsenic it had ne'er fallen much than 25% successful a azygous month. And successful the 4th quarter, the banal is down 58%, worse than its 38% driblet successful the 2nd 4th of this year, which had been its worst play connected record.

Last week, Tesla expanded discounts successful North America for buyers of Model 3 and Model Y electrical vehicles. Those discounts came aft the automaker offered incentives successful mainland China for December car income earlier this month.

Meanwhile, astatine Twitter, Musk has continued to flirt with controversy, welcoming backmost antecedently banned users, enabling the continued releases of interior messages related to the company's past handling of Covid and election-related content, and flip-flopping connected argumentation changes.

Companies person paused oregon suspended paid advertizing connected the platform, prompting outbursts from Musk.

Twitter is bleeding cash, and Musk is selling Tesla banal successful large chunks. According to filings successful mid-December, Musk sold astir 22 cardinal much shares of Tesla, which were worthy astir $3.6 billion, Earlier this year, Musk told his millions of followers connected societal media that helium had "no further TSLA income planned" after April 28.

Tesla investors privation Musk to refocus his efforts connected stabilizing the institution that accounts for the immense bulk of his wealth. Because of the extended selloff, Musk ceded his rubric arsenic the world's richest idiosyncratic earlier this period to LVMH president and CEO Bernard Arnault, according to Forbes.

"I deliberation helium truly needs to absorption connected operations, absorption connected giving america large cars," said Craig Irwin, an expert astatine Roth Capital who has a clasp standing connected the banal and an $85 terms target.

As of mid-day connected Tuesday, Tesla was trading astatine astir $112.

— CNBC's Lora Kolodny contributed to this report

WATCH: Elon Musk needs to absorption connected operations astatine Tesla