Tesla Shares Slide After Loss Report

Shares in Tesla Motors Inc. fell 11% to $178.59 yesterday after the California-based electric car maker reported on Wednesday that it lost $50 million in the first quarter.

CEO Elon Musk attributes the red ink to higher costs associated with product development, customer service operations and preparations to erect at least one EV battery "gigafactory" in the western U.S.

Separately, Panasonic Corp. has signed a letter of intent to participate in building the first Tesla battery factory. Musk says construction will begin in June, but he intends to soon break ground on at least one more such facility as a hedge against possible delays in opening the first such facility by 2017.

Musk also says California is back on his list of potential locations for a battery factory after initially being rejected for consideration because of the state's tedious regulatory approval process. Tesla also is evaluating sites in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas.

Musk has repeatedly predicted the factories will be able to cut the per-kilowatt cost of EV batteries 30%.