Electric vehicle giant Tesla (TSLA) saw its shares drop 18% to $725 on Wednesday after the company announced that some of its Model 3 deliveries in China would be postponed due to coronavirus outbreak.

"The proposed delivery (of cars) in early February will be delayed," Tesla vice president Tao Lin said on the Chinese microblogging website Weibo. "We will catch up the production line once the outbreak situation gets better."

Tesla’s Shanghai factory, which began rolling out cars in January, has been closed for nearly two weeks due to the health emergency. Coronavirus has killed 494 people and infected more than 24,600 individuals worldwide, with the majority of the cases in mainland China.

Prior to the China delivery announcement, Tesla shares had been surging. On Monday, Tesla stock soared nearly 20%, bringing the company’s stock past $700 for the first time. On Tuesday, shares closed up 13.7% to $887.06, a record high.

Panasonic said Monday that the car battery factory it runs with Tesla in Nevada would run a profit for the first time, boosting investor confidence. Tesla also posted strong fourth-quarter numbers last week.

Coronavirus has also impacted other international companies, forcing Google and Apple to shut down their stores and corporate offices in China. Nike has also said it would shut down half of its stores in the country in response to the emergency.

Coronavirus originated at a seafood and animal market in the Chinese city of Wuhan. In response to the crisis, close to 60 million Chinese citizens are on lockdown, staying inside their homes.

RELATED STORIES
Coronavirus Tesla China