New York, Feb 6, 2026, 09:32 EST — Regular session
- Tesla shares dipped in early New York trading as investors digested new headlines on China and AI.
- Fresh European registration figures suggest increasing competition for the EV maker.
- U.S. policymakers’ ongoing focus on self-driving regulations keeps autonomy squarely in play.
Tesla shares dropped 2.2% to $397.21 in early Friday trading, reacting to news of the company running an AI training center in China. The stock had closed at $406.32 the previous session.
Tesla’s pitch to investors hinges on more than just car sales. It places a strong bet on software and assisted-driving tech, with China standing as the fiercest arena for these battles.
The timing couldn’t be worse. Investors are already retreating from tech and growth stocks, grappling with which sectors AI will boost and which it will disrupt beyond repair.
Chinese media outlet Cailianshe reported Tesla has set up an AI training centre in China, concentrating on “local application and assisted driving,” according to Tesla Vice President Tao Lin. 1
Assisted driving, shorthand for advanced driver-assistance systems, involves software that aids with steering or speed control but still needs a human behind the wheel. For Tesla, even a slight acceleration in this area grabs more attention than a typical product update.
In Europe, the latest figures tell a different story. Volkswagen surpassed Tesla as the leading battery-electric vehicle (BEV) seller in 2025, delivering 274,278 BEVs compared to Tesla’s 236,357, according to JATO Dynamics. Tesla’s registrations dropped 27%, while VW’s climbed 56%, the data revealed. 2
UK sales numbers reveal the strain. Tesla’s deliveries tumbled over 57% in January, dropping to just 647 vehicles, according to New Automotive data. Meanwhile, Chinese competitor BYD sold 1,326 battery electric vehicles, a jump of nearly 21%. “British consumers are still moving towards cars with plugs, and away from those without,” said Tanya Sinclair, chief executive of Electric Vehicles UK. 3
Washington is pushing autonomy back into focus. This week, Tesla and Alphabet’s Waymo called on Congress to finally advance stalled legislation designed to accelerate self-driving car deployment, cautioning that the U.S. could lose ground to China. Tesla’s vehicle engineering VP Lars Moravy stressed that lawmakers “must modernize regulations that inhibit industry’s ability to innovate.” 4
Setting Tesla aside, growth stocks have taken a hit. Dave Harrison Smith, chief investment officer and head of technology investing at Bailard, called the retreat in U.S. software and data services shares a “sell-everything mindset” at work. 5
But Tesla’s risks remain clear: competition is heating up, regulators are setting the tempo for self-driving deployment, and legal challenges keep mounting. This week, a California judge ruled that a movie studio presented a “seemingly valid and plausible theory” of copyright infringement in a lawsuit over images used to promote Tesla’s autonomous cybercab. 6
Traders are turning their attention to key macro data that could shift rate expectations and impact pricey growth-stock valuations: the January U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, set for Wednesday (Feb. 11), followed by the consumer price index on Friday (Feb. 13). 7
