New York, Feb 26, 2026, 07:52 EST — Premarket
- Tesla fell 2.9% Wednesday to close at $417.40.
- According to California DMV filings, Tesla didn’t report any autonomous test miles in the state last year. The company also hasn’t applied for permits required to operate a driverless ride-hailing service.
- Investors considered a director’s announced share sale along with new legal challenges over hiring allegations, plus the latest Europe sales numbers.
Tesla shares fell 2.9% to end Wednesday at $417.40, keeping the spotlight on the stock as investors reconsider how soon the company could roll out its robotaxi ambitions before Thursday’s open.
For the sixth year in a row, Tesla logged zero autonomous test miles on California roads in 2025, according to California Department of Motor Vehicles records. The company hasn’t filed for the extra permits necessary to run fully driverless vehicles in the state. “They are ready and regulators are not”—that’s what Tesla suggests, said Bryant Walker Smith, a law professor at the University of South Carolina who specializes in autonomous-driving. “The reality is regulators are ready, and they are not.” Tesla didn’t respond to requests for comment, the report noted. Reuters
Timing’s become a real factor now that investors aren’t cutting much slack for stocks tied to far-off AI or self-driving tech gains. “The needle has clearly shifted” on what’s needed to win over the market on heavy AI investment, said Raffi Boyadjian, lead market analyst at Trading Point. U.S. index futures barely budged after Nvidia’s results came out to little fanfare. Jobless claims numbers are due later Thursday, with January’s producer-price figures following on Friday. Reuters
Tesla director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson has filed to unload as many as 25,731 shares—worth roughly $10.53 million—via Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, according to a separate filing. The planned sale covers shares linked to option exercises. The notice also cites a plan adoption date of Nov. 26, 2025.
Legal clouds hovered too. In San Francisco, a federal judge rejected Tesla’s bid to toss out a lawsuit that claims the company favored foreign H-1B visa holders over U.S. citizens for jobs, pointing to an alleged recruiter statement that a position was “H1B only.” Tesla, for its part, has pushed back, labeling the accusations “preposterous” in court filings, according to Reuters. Reuters
Tesla registrations across Europe slipped 17% in January versus a year ago, stretching the company’s losing streak to a thirteenth consecutive month, according to ACEA figures cited by Reuters. BYD, on the other hand, saw registrations rocket 165% in those same numbers—highlighting how Chinese automakers are ratcheting up pressure as the EV landscape in Europe shifts.
Autonomy regulation, ongoing legal battles, and weak points abroad: it’s a trifecta that can easily shake a stock like this, where the story often matters just as much as what’s showing up in the latest sales numbers.
The downside isn’t straightforward. Tesla can keep rolling out tests in other regions even without California permits, and it’s pushed back against what it sees as tough state regulations. As for the insider-sale notice, that’s just a proposal—it doesn’t necessarily mean any shares will hit the market.
Thursday, focus shifts to whether Nvidia’s momentum carries over—and if incoming macro data nudges rates upward. Eyes are now on Friday’s Producer Price Index for January, set for release at 8:30 a.m. ET.
