Tesla Stock Is Down. Steering Wheels Are Not the Reason.

Safety matters a great deal in the automotive market. Safety recalls and investigations, paradoxically, don’t matter as much.

Investors might not be able to tell that by looking at stocks.


Tesla


(ticker: TSLA) shares were down 3.7% in midday trading Wednesday, the same day the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into steering wheels that could detach. The


S&P 500


was down 0.2% and the


Nasdaq Composite


was flat.