Tesla shares are falling on a report that the electric car maker has asked some suppliers to refund a portion of previous payments made by the company.

In its report Sunday, The Wall Street Journal cited a Tesla memo asking a supplier last week to return a "meaningful amount of money of its payments since 2016.”

The memo said all suppliers were being asked to help Tesla become profitable, the newspaper said, but added that it was unclear how many were asked for retroactive discounts.

Tesla shares are down 3 percent Monday.

The Journal said other suppliers the media outlet contacted said they were not aware of the request.