NEW YORK, December 29, 2025, 00:16 ET — Market closed
- Tesla ended Friday down 2.1% at $475.19, underperforming a flat broader market in thin post-holiday trade. [1]
- Regulators’ focus on autonomous-vehicle safety intensified after a San Francisco blackout snarled Alphabet’s Waymo robotaxis. [2]
- Investors are also watching a U.S. safety probe into Model 3 emergency door releases and this week’s Fed minutes. [3]
Tesla shares closed down 2.1% on Friday at $475.19, after touching a session low of $473.82, according to market data. [4]
The move matters because Tesla’s valuation increasingly hinges on its autonomy ambitions, and the regulatory bar for driverless operations is moving in real time. A tightening rulebook can slow deployments and raise compliance costs for companies selling the “self-driving” story. [5]
Over the weekend, a Reuters report on Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) Waymo highlighted how a San Francisco power outage this month left robotaxis stalled at intersections when traffic lights went dark, renewing calls for stricter oversight. California regulators said they are looking into the incident. [6]
“This is just a shot across the bow,” said Philip Koopman, a Carnegie Mellon University autonomous-technology expert, referring to the Waymo incident and what it could signal for future emergencies. [7]
Waymo said its vehicles are designed to treat non-operational signals as four-way stops, but they can request confirmation from human staff. The company said it is implementing fleet-wide updates after a concentrated spike in confirmation requests slowed responses and contributed to congestion. [8]
The episode is being watched across the sector because Tesla (TSLA.O) and rivals are pushing to scale driverless fleets. Reuters said robotaxi operators often rely on “teleoperation” — industry shorthand for remote human help — when vehicles run into edge cases. [9]
Tesla’s stock has also faced more traditional safety scrutiny. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a defect investigation into an estimated 179,071 model-year 2022 Model 3 sedans over concerns that emergency door release controls may not be easy to find or identify in a crisis. [10]
A defect investigation is the agency’s first step in a review process that can lead to a recall, but it does not mean one will be ordered. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported. [11]
The broader market offered few catalysts on Friday. All three major U.S. indexes closed slightly lower in a light-volume, post-Christmas session, as traders watched whether the seasonal “Santa Claus rally” — the last five trading days of the year and the first two of the next — will hold. [12]
Tesla ended last week below its 52-week high of $498.83, leaving it vulnerable to sharper moves during thin year-end trading, when a small burst of orders can move prices more than usual. [13]
Before Monday’s session, investors will also be tracking the week’s macro calendar. The Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes are due Tuesday, and markets will be closed Thursday for New Year’s Day. [14]
For Tesla specifically, attention is turning to near-term company updates that can reset expectations quickly. The next widely watched data point is the company’s quarterly production and deliveries release, which Tesla typically publishes soon after a quarter ends. [15]
Tesla is also expected to report earnings in late January; Yahoo Finance’s earnings calendar lists January 28, 2026 as the next report date. [16]
Traders will be watching whether Tesla can hold above Friday’s low near $474 and whether regulatory headlines — on robotaxis or vehicle-safety design — add pressure during the final three sessions of 2025. [17]
References
1. finance.yahoo.com, 2. www.reuters.com, 3. www.reuters.com, 4. finance.yahoo.com, 5. www.reuters.com, 6. www.reuters.com, 7. www.reuters.com, 8. www.reuters.com, 9. www.reuters.com, 10. www.reuters.com, 11. www.reuters.com, 12. www.reuters.com, 13. www.reuters.com, 14. www.barrons.com, 15. ir.tesla.com, 16. finance.yahoo.com, 17. finance.yahoo.com
