Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) finished Friday’s session lower, but the story after the bell is less about a single candle on the chart and more about the pile-up of catalysts investors will be digesting into the next trading day.
TSLA closed at $481.20, down 0.45%, after swinging between roughly $474.72 and $490.49 in a high-volume session. [1]
In the after-hours session, Tesla was indicated modestly higher around $482.52, a small uptick of about $1.32 (+0.27%) from the official close—though extended-hours pricing can change quickly on thin liquidity, especially on a Friday night. [2]
And because Dec. 19 is a Friday, the U.S. stock market does not open “tomorrow” (Saturday). The next regular session is Monday, Dec. 22, 2025.
Below is what matters most for Tesla stock before the next opening bell—starting with the biggest headlines that hit today.
Tesla Stock After-Hours Snapshot: The Numbers Traders Are Working With
- Close (regular session): $481.20 (-0.45%) [3]
- After-hours indication: ~$482.52 [4]
- Day’s range: ~$474.72 to ~$490.49 [5]
- 52-week context: TSLA has recently traded near a 52-week high around $495.28, underscoring how close the stock remains to record territory even after recent volatility. [6]
1) The Big Headline After the Close: Elon Musk’s 2018 Pay Package Is Back On
Late Friday, the Delaware Supreme Court reinstated Elon Musk’s 2018 Tesla pay package, reversing a prior decision that had rescinded it. [7]
Key points from today’s reporting that investors are likely to focus on:
- The 2018 plan granted Musk the ability to earn options tied to performance milestones; Reuters notes it involved options to acquire about 304 million shares, representing roughly 9% of Tesla’s outstanding stock. [8]
- Reuters also emphasized that the package’s value has ballooned with Tesla’s stock price, putting the current implied value far above the original 2018 estimate (and inherently variable with TSLA’s share price). [9]
- Tesla has also worked to reduce future shareholder-litigation risk by reincorporating in Texas and setting a high ownership threshold to sue for certain alleged corporate-law violations, per Reuters. [10]
Why this matters for TSLA on Monday:
This ruling removes (or at least narrows) a long-running governance overhang. But it also re-centers a debate investors keep returning to: Tesla’s valuation and control structure are tightly linked to Musk’s role—and headlines about Musk, the board, and compensation can move sentiment even when car deliveries and margins don’t change overnight.
TechCrunch added that Tesla had earlier considered (or structured) alternative compensation as a hedge against losing the appeal—raising the possibility that the company could now unwind some of that contingency planning. [11]
2) California DMV: “Autopilot” Marketing Must Change—or Tesla Risks a Sales Suspension
Another major storyline isn’t brand-new today, but it is still one of the most market-relevant regulatory threats hanging over TSLA right now.
California’s DMV published a formal decision stating Tesla violated state law by misleadingly using “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving Capability” in marketing. [12]
The DMV’s decision is unusually specific about timing and penalties:
- The administrative law judge’s proposed decision included suspensions of Tesla’s manufacturing and dealer licenses for 30 days. [13]
- The DMV reduced the penalties, including a permanent stay of the manufacturer-license suspension, but gave Tesla 60 days to take action regarding its use of the term “autopilot.” [14]
- If Tesla does not address the issue, after 60 days it will be subject to a 30-day suspension of its dealer license, according to the DMV. [15]
Why investors care even if the deadline isn’t immediate:
California remains central to Tesla’s U.S. footprint, and this is one of the clearest examples of regulators directly targeting the language around Tesla’s driver-assistance and autonomy roadmap—the same roadmap that many bulls argue is the real reason TSLA trades like a tech/AI stock rather than a traditional automaker.
Investor’s Business Daily summarized the market’s current mood bluntly: many investors appear not overly concerned about near-term disruption, in part because Tesla can adjust marketing language without halting sales immediately. [16]
3) Europe: Italy Closes EV Consumer-Info Probes Into Tesla and Rivals—No Fines
In Europe, Tesla got a different kind of regulatory headline today—one that looks more like a cleanup than an escalation.
Italy’s competition authority said it closed probes into Tesla, BYD, Stellantis, and Volkswagen over allegedly misleading consumer information about EV performance (including range, battery degradation, and battery-warranty limitations). [17]
Rather than impose penalties, the regulator accepted commitments, including:
- revising websites to present information more clearly, and
- introducing a simulation tool for range comparisons within the same vehicle segment. [18]
Why it matters for TSLA:
This is not a “growth catalyst” by itself—but it reduces the probability of surprise fines or prolonged legal uncertainty in a region where EV demand and competition remain intense.
4) The Market Backdrop: Tech-Led Rally + Options Expiration = Big Volume, Choppy Tape
Tesla didn’t trade in a vacuum on Friday.
U.S. stocks finished higher with a tech-heavy rebound—Reuters described a market lifted by renewed AI optimism as megacaps extended Thursday’s gains. [19]
At the same time, Friday was a major quarterly options-expiration and rebalance day. Axios reported that over $7 trillion in options and related contracts were set to expire during “triple witching,” an event known for driving huge volume even when volatility is not extreme. [20]
What that means for TSLA:
Tesla is one of the most actively traded single-name options in the market. On big expiration days, TSLA can whip around levels that have little to do with fundamentals—especially into the last hour of trading—because hedging flows, rolling activity, and index/portfolio mechanics can dominate price action.
5) Wall Street Forecasts and Analyst Calls From Today: The “AI Tesla” Narrative Keeps Driving Targets
Even with all the legal and regulatory headlines, a large part of Tesla’s stock narrative remains unchanged: Wall Street increasingly frames TSLA as an AI/autonomy platform with an auto business attached.
Truist: Price Target Raised to $444, Rating Held at “Hold”
Investing.com reported that Truist raised its Tesla price target to $444 from $406 while maintaining a Hold rating. [21]
Notably, Truist’s thesis (as summarized in the report) ties a large portion of Tesla’s value to its ability to commercialize AI-driven products/services—especially its Robotaxi ambitions enabled by FSD—while warning that competitor announcements and imperfect autonomy outcomes can keep TSLA volatile. [22]
Deutsche Bank: Price Target Lifted to $500; Watch Q4 Delivery Expectations
A separate report indicated Deutsche Bank raised its TSLA price target to $500 (from $470) and maintained a Buy rating. [23]
Barron’s also referenced Deutsche Bank’s Q4 delivery expectation of about 405,000 vehicles, below the prior-year comparison cited in the same item—an important reminder that, even in a robotaxi storyline, near-term unit volume still matters. [24]
Goldman Sachs (as a sentiment check): Neutral With a $400 Target
IBD cited Goldman Sachs as maintaining a Neutral rating with a $400 price target, highlighting the wide dispersion in credible institutional views on Tesla’s valuation. [25]
Takeaway:
Today’s analyst updates reinforce the same split that has defined TSLA for years—bulls underwriting autonomy and robotics; skeptics focused on the difficulty of scaling autonomy and the reality that most current revenue still comes from selling cars.
What to Know Before the Next Market Open (Monday, Dec. 22)
Because Tesla is coming off a headline-packed Friday, Monday’s opening tone may be set less by macro data and more by weekend digestion, re-positioning, and follow-through on the biggest narratives.
1) There are no major U.S. economic releases scheduled for Monday
MarketWatch’s U.S. economic calendar shows none scheduled for Monday, Dec. 22. [26]
That often means single-stock news flow, positioning, and broader risk appetite can have an outsized impact on early trading—especially for a high-beta name like TSLA.
2) Watch for any weekend clarifications on the Musk compensation ruling
The ruling itself is known; the market will now focus on second-order questions: What happens to any interim/contingency compensation structures? Does Tesla comment? Do governance critics escalate? [27]
3) Keep the California DMV timeline straight
The DMV’s document provides a clearer roadmap than many headlines: 60 days to address use of “autopilot,” with a potential 30-day dealer-license suspension if Tesla does not comply. [28]
For Monday specifically, the key is sentiment: investors will be weighing whether this is “just marketing language” or the start of a broader tightening around autonomy claims.
4) Tesla’s near-record price zone makes technical levels matter more than usual
With TSLA recently printing near $495, traders often treat that as an immediate reference point for “breakout vs. rejection” psychology, while the $475 area (Friday’s lows were in that neighborhood) becomes a short-term risk gauge. [29]
5) Expect post-expiration repositioning
With Friday’s major options expiration now behind the tape, Monday can sometimes bring cleaner price discovery—especially if the stock opens outside Friday’s range and forces a reset in dealer hedging.
Bottom Line: Tesla Stock Enters Monday With Momentum—and Multiple Cross-Currents
Tesla ended the week with the stock still near record territory, but Friday’s close masks how many powerful narratives converged in a single day:
- a landmark governance decision restoring Musk’s 2018 pay plan, [30]
- an unusually direct California regulatory threat with a defined compliance clock, [31]
- a European regulatory matter that appears to be de-escalating rather than intensifying, [32]
- and a high-volume market session shaped by tech leadership and massive contract expirations. [33]
References
1. stockanalysis.com, 2. www.marketscreener.com, 3. stockanalysis.com, 4. www.marketscreener.com, 5. stockanalysis.com, 6. www.investing.com, 7. www.reuters.com, 8. www.reuters.com, 9. www.reuters.com, 10. www.reuters.com, 11. techcrunch.com, 12. www.dmv.ca.gov, 13. www.dmv.ca.gov, 14. www.dmv.ca.gov, 15. www.dmv.ca.gov, 16. www.investors.com, 17. www.reuters.com, 18. www.reuters.com, 19. www.reuters.com, 20. www.axios.com, 21. www.investing.com, 22. www.investing.com, 23. www.gurufocus.com, 24. www.barrons.com, 25. www.investors.com, 26. www.marketwatch.com, 27. www.reuters.com, 28. www.dmv.ca.gov, 29. stockanalysis.com, 30. www.reuters.com, 31. www.dmv.ca.gov, 32. www.reuters.com, 33. www.reuters.com
