Tesla (TSLA) on Watch as Certain Incentives Might be Cut in Key Market

Tesla Motors (Nasdaq: TSLA) could see some pressure moving forward as government incentives in one of its key selling markets might see a cut soon.

Bloomberg reported on Thursday that California's Air Resources Board is weighing changes to its Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which may include battery-pack swapping as a way for Tesla to meet the agency's fast refueling requirement.

Meeting the requirement allows Tesla up to seven credits for each of its 85-kilowatt Model S vehicles sold in California.

News comes following reports in August that registrations for Tesla's Model S hit 4,714 in first-half 2013, outselling competition from Audi, Lexus, and Jaguar in the process. While potential buyers in other states have been relatively slow to move on the Company's offerings, incentives in California generally make owning on much more feasible.

Cutting incentives at all might be a blow to Tesla's momentum at this point.

Shares of Tesla are modestly higher in early trading Thursday.

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