New York, Feb 6, 2026, 16:16 ET — After-hours
- Tesla shares rose about 3.5% at the close; the stock ticked lower in after-hours trade
- A China report said Tesla has set up an AI training centre aimed at local assisted-driving work
- Investors are watching delayed U.S. jobs and inflation data next week for the next push in growth stocks
Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) shares closed up 3.5% at $411.02 on Friday and were down 0.2% at $410.10 in after-hours trading. The stock swung between $397.75 and $414.55 during the session.
The move came after a China report said Tesla has set up an artificial intelligence training centre in the country to train its AI technology for assisted driving, citing Tesla vice president Tao Lin. Assisted driving — often called advanced driver assistance (ADAS) — can help with steering and braking but still requires a driver.
Why it matters now: Tesla’s share price is tied to the idea that software and autonomy can do more of the heavy lifting than car sales. At the same time, the broader “AI build-out” trade has turned jumpy as investors question how quickly huge spending pays off, even as the Nasdaq and S&P 500 rebounded on Friday. “It’s a de-risking trade,” said Andrew Wells, chief investment officer at SanJac Alpha. Reuters
China has also been a live wire for Tesla’s demand story. Data from the China Passenger Car Association showed sales of China-made Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, including exports, rose 9.3% in January from a year earlier, while Tesla’s China market share in 2025 fell to 8% from 10% in 2024, the data showed. CEO Elon Musk has said he expects regulators in Europe and China to approve Tesla’s driver-supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) system as early as this month.
Europe is going the other way on the scoreboard. Volkswagen’s core brand overtook Tesla in battery-electric vehicle sales in Europe in 2025, JATO Dynamics data showed, with Tesla registrations down 27% as rivals pushed new models and cheaper trims. “Tesla’s success may start to be a thing of the past,” JATO global analyst Felipe Munoz said. Reuters
In Britain, the numbers were blunt. Tesla sales fell 57.3% year-on-year in January to 647 cars, data from New Automotive showed, even as overall UK battery-electric sales jumped more than 40%. “British consumers are still moving towards cars with plugs, and away from those without,” said Tanya Sinclair, chief executive at Electric Vehicles UK. Reuters
Policy risk is still part of the autonomy wager. In Washington this week, lawmakers, Waymo and Tesla urged Congress to move on long-stalled legislation meant to speed deployment of self-driving vehicles — including robotaxis, cars meant to drive themselves as paid ride-hailing — warning the U.S. is falling behind China. Tesla vehicle engineering vice president Lars Moravy said Congress “must modernize regulations that inhibit industry’s ability to innovate.” Reuters
But the downside case is not hard to sketch. Tesla is dealing with choppy demand signals in Europe and the UK, and it faces legal and regulatory questions as it markets autonomy more aggressively. A U.S. judge this week said he was inclined to let a “Blade Runner 2049” copyright suit against Tesla and Musk proceed over allegations they used AI-generated images mimicking the film to promote the “cybercab.” Reuters
For traders, the next catalyst is macro, not a new Model Y trim. The Labor Department has rescheduled January’s U.S. employment report to Wednesday, Feb. 11, and the January consumer price index report to Friday, Feb. 13, after a federal government shutdown delayed releases, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said.
