New York, Feb 8, 2026, 06:49 EST — Market closed
- Tesla ended Friday at $411.11, a gain of 3.5%.
- Several Tesla executives have posted about new hiring plans connected to Elon Musk’s push for U.S. solar manufacturing.
- This week, traders brace for a deluge of U.S. data—any one of which could shake up rate expectations and send growth stocks swinging.
Tesla finished Friday at $411.11, up 3.5%, pushing the stock higher after a tough stretch for tech and other fast-growing stocks.
U.S. markets are closed this Sunday, leaving Tesla investors with little new on the price front but plenty to chew over. Fresh updates on the company’s solar manufacturing plans and overseas AI efforts have reignited the perennial question: just how much will Tesla spend, and when will that hit the numbers?
The Dow notched a close above 50,000 for the first time on Friday, while chip stocks caught a strong bid as traders returned to AI-related plays. Amazon fell, however, after it projected capital expenditures would jump by more than 50%, pointing to heavier data center investment—following a trend set by its rivals.
Tesla could be gearing up for a major solar push. According to a Reuters report, company execs have been posting about new hiring tied to Elon Musk’s goal: 100 gigawatts (GW) of U.S. solar output by 2028. For context, that’s a measure of how much power they aim to generate. Seth Winger, a senior manager at Tesla, didn’t mince words, calling the undertaking “an audacious, ambitious project.” Over at TD Cowen, analyst Jeff Osborne used the word “aspirational” to describe the midterm targets for the solar supply chain. The report draws on industry numbers showing current U.S. solar module capacity at 65 GW, but solar cell capacity lags far behind at just 3.2 GW—remember, those cells are the part that actually turn sunlight into power. Reuters
Cailianshe, a Chinese media outlet, said Tesla has set up an AI training hub in China targeting local use cases and driver-assist features, quoting Tesla Vice President Tao Lin.
Tesla shares managed a rebound Friday but are still down roughly 4.5% from last Friday’s close, end-of-day figures show—highlighting just how fast sentiment can flip. During Friday’s trading, the stock moved in a range from about $398 up to $415.
Beyond Tesla, cracks are showing in the broader EV space. Stellantis logged 22.2 billion euros ($26.5 billion) in charges as it pared back its electric-vehicle plans, a retreat Reuters attributed to lagging demand and subsidy cuts. Ford and General Motors have also landed on the list, with both automakers facing EV-related writedowns.
Tesla heads into Monday with a pair of stories in play: on one side, an EV manufacturer still vulnerable to demand fluctuations; on the other, a business touting a bigger vision in energy and AI—one that may call for hefty upfront investment.
The route forward is anything but smooth. Building a solar plant of this magnitude would push supply chains and policy backing to the limit. Over in China, AI and assisted-driving projects bring a separate pile of regulatory and execution headaches. And if economic numbers force rates up, pricey growth names could drop quickly.
Looking ahead, the spotlight shifts to Washington for the next data moves. The Labor Department plans to release January’s jobs report on Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 8:30 a.m. ET, followed by the consumer price index for the same month, set for Friday, Feb. 13, also at 8:30 a.m. ET. That’s according to the agency’s official release calendar.
