(Yicai Global) June 5 -- Shares of Contemporary Amperex Technology slid even though the Chinese battery giant said rumors of the Chinese battery giant losing its biggest client Tesla because of the changing American subsidy policy is untrue.

CATL [SHE: 300750] closed 3.8 percent lower at CNY219.80 (USD30.90), after falling over 5 percent in the morning.

The information which claimed CATL is no longer a Tesla supplier is not factual, the Ningde-based company said in a statement on the Shenzhen bourse's investor platform today.

No change has happened on the strategic partnership between the firm and the American new energy vehicle behemoth as it will further advance in a sustained manner, the Chinese company said, adding that it has not heard about any United States customs' seizure of CATL batteries.

Tesla updated its website in the US on June 3 to show that the Model 3 rear-wheel drive version is eligible for a tax credit of USD7,500 instead of the earlier subsidy of USD3,750 and people on social media platforms interpreted this to mean that both the battery and other components are compliant with the US Inflation Reduction Act which requires production in the States. CATL has no factories in the country so analysts deducted the rumor to mean that CATL has been booted from Tesla’s supply chain in North America.

Other analysts at Huachuang Securities said that maybe CATL exports its battery modules to the States and assembles or gets them assembled there to be able to enjoy the tax credit. Moreover, they said that a shift to batteries made by LG Energy Solution or Panasonic would mean the Model 3 RWD battery configuration would look different whereas that part of the California-headquartered firm's website has been unchanged since May.

Last year, Tesla contributed CNY38 billion (USD5.3 billion) to CATL's revenue, or nearly 12 percent of the Chinese firm's total, marking the second straight year that Tesla was CATL's largest client. The Chinese company began to supply lithium-ion batteries to Tesla in July 2020, ranking third after LG Energy and Panasonic.

Editor: Emmi Laine