[(Title)] Tesla shares plunge after reports it is seeking refunds.

Tesla shares have fallen sharply after it was revealed the electric carmaker is seeking refunds from some suppliers.

The company, which is headed by Elon Musk, told suppliers the refunds were critical to its ability to stay in business

埃隆·马斯克的特斯拉公司告诉供应商，退款对于其保持业务能力至关重要。

Tesla has confirmed it had asked a small number of suppliers to cut prices on ongoing, long-term projects to improve its future cash flow, after a report in the Wall Street Journal about a discount request sending shares down as much as 6.6 percent.

特斯拉已经证实，公司要求少量供应商降低正在进行中的长期项目价格，以改进未来现金流。《华尔街日报》援引特斯拉全球供应经理发来的一份备忘录称，特斯拉已向一些供应商寻求退还以前支付的款项以换取利润。

The Journal reported that Tesla had turned to some suppliers for a refund of previously made payments in a bid to turn a profit, citing a memo sent by a Tesla global supply manager.

Concern that the memo signalled that money-losing Tesla was scrambling to find cash to fund its current operations and multiple long-term projects sent shares down.

人们对备忘录的担忧表明，亏损的特斯拉急于寻找现金以资助其目前的业务和多个长期项目，导致股价下跌。

A Tesla spokesperson said the electric vehicle maker had asked fewer than 10 of its suppliers for a reduction in "total capex project spend for long-term projects that began in 2016 but are still not complete".

特斯拉发言人称，他们只要求了不到10家供应商减少“2016年开始的长期项目的总资本支出项目支出，但仍未完成”。发言人补充说，任何价格调整都会改善特斯拉的“未来现金流动，但不会影响我们在Q3实现利润的能力”。

Any pricing adjustments would improve Tesla's "future cash flows, but not impact our ability to achieve profitability in Q3", the spokesperson added.

After the statement, Tesla shares bounced back, but were still down 2.7 percent.

在声明后,泰斯拉股价回弹，但仍下跌2.7%。科恩的分析师杰弗里·奥斯本告诉路透社，特斯拉有关供应商的解释看起来“有道理”，但仍存在挥之不去的担忧。

Cowen analyst Jeffrey Osborne told Reuters that Tesla's supplier explanation appeared "rational", but that there remained lingering concerns.

"We still have the same concerns, though, about general cash flow needs for the company, production quality issues, automation or lack thereof, as well as concerns on profitability," Mr Osborne said.

他说：“不过，我们仍然有同样的担忧，关于公司的一般现金流需求，生产质量问题，自动化或缺乏，以及对盈利能力的担忧。”

Tesla has been burning through cash as it ramps up production of its Model 3 sedan. Mr Musk has said the company does not need to raise cash this year, but several analysts have predicted that the electric car maker would need to raise capital soon.

马斯克表示，公司今年不需要筹集资金，但一些分析师预计，电动汽车制造商需要尽快筹集资金。该公司今年第三和第四季度将实现盈利，第一季度亏损7.096亿美元。

Tesla has said the company will be profitable in the third and fourth quarters of the year. It posted a loss of $US709.6 million in its first quarter.

In June, Tesla said it was cutting several thousand jobs to become sustainable profitable without endangering the ramp-up of Model 3 production.

今年6月，Tesla表示，为了实现可持续盈利，正在削减数千个工作岗位，但这并不危及第三型号的生产。