Tesla shares fall on range worries

FILE - In this Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012, file photo, Trader Frederick Reimer, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Stocks opened close to break-even Thursday after the government said weekly applications for unemployment benefits fell to the second-lowest level this year. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, file)
FILE- In this Sunday, June 24, 2012, file photo a new Dodge RAM 1500 pickup truck is for sale at an auto dealership in Springfield, Ill. Auto companies are betting on a surge in pickup sales now that home building is on the rise. Chrysler said Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012, it is adding 1,000 workers to its Ram pickup factory because it sees higher demand for the redesigned truck. Ford and General Motors also say truck sales are climbing fast after several years of small but steady growth. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman, File)
Chrysler Group Chairman and CEO Sergio Marchionne speaks at a news conference at the Mack I Engine Plant in Detroit, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012. Chrysler plans to add 1,250 jobs at three Detroit-area factories in the near future. Most of the jobs are for a third shift at the Warren truck plant, which will build more Ram pickups. The hiring is another step in Chrysler's comeback from its 2009 government-funded bankruptcy. The company is now majority-owned by Italian automaker Fiat. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
FILE - In this file photo provided by Paramount Pictures, Marlon Brando is shown in a scene from Paramount Pictures' "The Godfather." The dispute over the future of “The Godfather” franchise moves to federal court in New York as Paramount Pictures and heirs of the story’s author face off at a hearing Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Paramount Pictures, File)
Attorney Bertram Fields talks outside a federal court in New York Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012 after he told a judge that the family of the late Mario Puzo, author of the original "The Godfather" books, believes Paramount Pictures does not have exclusive rights to make movies based on new "Godfather" books. Paramount sued the late author's estate in March, seeking a declaration that it automatically owned book publishing rights in any book that was a sequel to "The Godfather." (AP Photo/Larry Neumeister)

FILE - In this Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012, file photo, Trader Frederick Reimer, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Stocks opened close to break-even Thursday after the government said weekly applications for unemployment benefits fell to the second-lowest level this year. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, file)

FILE - In this Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012, file photo, Trader Frederick Reimer, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Stocks opened close to break-even Thursday after the government said weekly applications for unemployment benefits fell to the second-lowest level this year. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, file)
FILE- In this Sunday, June 24, 2012, file photo a new Dodge RAM 1500 pickup truck is for sale at an auto dealership in Springfield, Ill. Auto companies are betting on a surge in pickup sales now that home building is on the rise. Chrysler said Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012, it is adding 1,000 workers to its Ram pickup factory because it sees higher demand for the redesigned truck. Ford and General Motors also say truck sales are climbing fast after several years of small but steady growth. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman, File)
Chrysler Group Chairman and CEO Sergio Marchionne speaks at a news conference at the Mack I Engine Plant in Detroit, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012. Chrysler plans to add 1,250 jobs at three Detroit-area factories in the near future. Most of the jobs are for a third shift at the Warren truck plant, which will build more Ram pickups. The hiring is another step in Chrysler's comeback from its 2009 government-funded bankruptcy. The company is now majority-owned by Italian automaker Fiat. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
FILE - In this file photo provided by Paramount Pictures, Marlon Brando is shown in a scene from Paramount Pictures' "The Godfather." The dispute over the future of “The Godfather” franchise moves to federal court in New York as Paramount Pictures and heirs of the story’s author face off at a hearing Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Paramount Pictures, File)
Attorney Bertram Fields talks outside a federal court in New York Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012 after he told a judge that the family of the late Mario Puzo, author of the original "The Godfather" books, believes Paramount Pictures does not have exclusive rights to make movies based on new "Godfather" books. Paramount sued the late author's estate in March, seeking a declaration that it automatically owned book publishing rights in any book that was a sequel to "The Godfather." (AP Photo/Larry Neumeister)

DETROIT () — Shares of took a ride Monday after a weekend article in the New York Times claimed that its electric sedan, the Model S, ran out of power during an East Coast road trip and had to be towed to a recharging station. Shares recovered somewhat after Tesla's CEO and others questioned the story.

THE SPARK: In a story published last weekend titled "Stalled Out on Tesla's Electric Highway," a Times reporter said a Model S loaned to him by the company failed to meet its promised range a number of times during a trip between Washington and Connecticut.

The reporter said he barely made it between Tesla's two new super-fast charging stations in Newark, Del., and Milford, Conn., which are 200 miles apart, even though the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates the Model S's range to be 265 miles. Later the car began losing power more quickly than he expected after it was parked overnight — but not plugged in — in a cold garage. Eventually, the car ran out of juice and had to be towed to a charging station.

In a tweet Monday afternoon, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the article is "fake," and that electronic vehicle logs showed the driver took a long detour and didn't charge the car's battery to the maximum amount. Musk said the company is lining up other journalists to do the same drive.

Musk added that the company only collects trip data from customers who opt in, but always keeps track of media drives.

The Times stood by its reporter in a statement, saying he followed instructions given to him by multiple Tesla employees during the drive and didn't take any unreported detours. The Times also said the reporter was never told to plug the car in overnight in cold weather.

"Any suggestion that the account was 'fake' is, of course, flatly untrue," the newspaper said.

THE BIG PICTURE: Tesla reports fourth-quarter and full-year earnings soon. The company has enjoyed critical acclaim for the Model S, which went on sale last summer. But as Palo Alto, Calif.-based Tesla ramps up production and prepares for the 2014 debut of its second vehicle, the Model X SUV, it still faces a huge obstacle: The lack of an electric vehicle infrastructure on U.S. roads.

Tesla has built nine supercharging stations, which can get the Model S's battery half-charged in about 30 minutes. It plans to expand that to more than 100 stations by 2015. The Department of Energy says there are a total of 5,295 electric car charging stations across the country. But that's still a fraction of the 110,000 gas stations. Tesla buyers need to know that anxiety about where and when to plug is going to be an issue for years to come.

Wall Street is still bullish on the company, though. Even before Musk appeared live on CNBC to challenge the reporting of the article, Jefferies analyst Peter Nesvold suspected the Times reporter didn't charge the car properly. Nesvold said Model S customers he has spoken to have been very satisfied with their cars, and he believes Tesla will meet its plan to deliver 3,000 cars in 2012 and 20,000 in 2013. Nesvold raised his target price from $36 to $45 on Monday.

SHARE ACTION: Tesla shares fell 4 percent to $37.50 in morning trading Monday before recovering somewhat to close at $38.42, down 2.1 percent. Shares have been trading in a 52-week range of $25.52 to $40.