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Hundreds of Tesla owners gathered at the automaker's showrooms and distribution centers in China over the weekend, demanding rebates and credit after sudden price cuts they said meant they had overpaid for electric cars they bought earlier. On Saturday, about 200 recent buyers of the Tesla Model Y and Model 3 gathered at a Tesla delivery center in Shanghai to protest against the U.S. carmaker's decision to slash prices for the second time in three months on Friday. Many said they had believed that prices Tesla charged for its cars late last year would not be cut as abruptly or as deeply as the automaker just announced in a move to spur sales and support production at its Shanghai plant. The scheduled expiration of a government subsidy at the end of 2022 also drove many to finalize their purchases. Videos posted on social media showed crowds at Tesla stores and delivery centers in other Chinese cities from Chengdu to Shenzhen, suggesting wider consumer backlash. After Friday’s s...

The historic run-up in home prices during the first two years of the pandemic gave home owner s record amounts of new home equity . Since May, however, about $1.5 trillion of that has vanished, according to Black Knight, a mortgage software and analytics company. The average borrower has lost $30,000 in equity. Home owner equity peaked at $17.6 trillion collectively last May, after home prices jumped 45% since the start of the pandemic. At the end of September, prices were still up 41%, and equity was still quite strong. Borrowers who bought their homes before the pandemic collectively have $5 trillion more than they did before the pandemic hit. That translates to a gain of $92,000 more equity per borrower than in February 2020. “While additional declines may be on the horizon, home owner positions remain broadly strong,” noted Ben Graboske, Black Knight’s president of data and analytics. But home prices began to weaken as mortgage rates rose in the spring, making it a lot less affo...