Donald Trump in Alabama. Mark Wallheiser / Stringer President-elect Donald Trump sent out a tweet Tuesday morning threatening to tax General Motors for manufacturing abroad.

"General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to U.S. car dealers-tax free across border," Trump tweeted. "Make in U.S.A. or pay big border tax!"

In a statement, however, GM said most Chevy Cruze vehicles sold in the US were manufactured in Ohio. It added that the company produced an international version of the Cruze, the model to which Trump was most likely referring, in Mexico and did sell some of those vehicles in the US.

"GM builds the Chevrolet Cruze hatchback for global markets in Mexico, with a small number sold in the US," GM said.

Shares of the automaker briefly slipped by about 1% in premarket trading after the tweet.

Since his election, Trump has used Twitter to encourage large companies to keep production and jobs in the US. Indiana said it would provide up to $7 million in tax incentives to the air-conditioner maker Carrier to persuade it to keep hundreds of jobs in Indiana that were originally planned to be sent to Mexico.

Late last year, several of Trump's tweets about public companies moved the markets. He said the cost of Boeing's contract to develop a new Air Force One was "exorbitant," sending the company's shares lower. His tweet calling for the US to expand its nuclear capability until the "world comes to its senses regarding nukes" spiked a uranium exchange-traded fund.

Trump also commented that the cost of the F-35 fighter-jet program was out of control, sending shares of Lockheed Martin down 4%.

Trump said last month that he had sold all of his stocks in June.