Tesla shares bounce back after record plunge

Tesla Inc shares bounced back on Wednesday, a day after the electric car maker suffered the biggest one-day percentage drop in the company's history.

Shares jumped 6.88% a day after falling more than 21% as the company was passed over for inclusion in the benchmark S&P 500 index. The decline on Tuesday chopped off about $80bn (R1.3-trillion) in Tesla's market value, or more than the combined value of fellow automakers General Motors and Ford Motor.

The stock has been on a meteoric climb this year, rising about 400% through September 4, including a gain of more than 74% in August as expectations grew that the company would be included in the S&P 500 after its second-quarter earnings cleared a hurdle for inclusion in the index.

S&P late Friday announced it would include online craft seller Etsy Inc, semiconductor equipment maker Teradyne Inc and pharmaceutical technology company Catalent Inc to the S&P 500 instead.

Tuesday's decline pushed the stock down to a closing level of $330.21, just above its 50-day moving average of $329.63 - a key technical support level.