New York, Jan 10, 2026, 07:40 (EST) — Market closed
- Tesla shares ended Friday up 2.1%, beating the broader market’s gains.
- Attention is divided between signs of EV demand and the self-driving technology showdown showcased at CES.
- Upcoming catalysts: U.S. inflation figures next week and Tesla’s earnings report on Jan. 28.
Tesla (TSLA.O) shares closed Friday up $9.18, or 2.1%, at $445.01, after trading in a range from $430.40 to $448.78. U.S. markets will be closed Saturday and reopen Monday, Jan. 12.
The rebound coincided with a wider rally that sent the S&P 500 to a record closing high, despite a softer-than-anticipated U.S. jobs report. The data failed to dent hopes for interest rate reductions later this year. Tesla’s gains fueled the Nasdaq rally, joined by other megacap stocks.
Tesla reported producing 434,358 vehicles and delivering 418,227 in the fourth quarter, hitting a new high with 14.2 gigawatt-hours of energy storage products deployed. The company plans to release its earnings after the market closes on Wednesday, Jan. 28, followed by a live Q&A webcast at 5:30 p.m. Eastern.
Traders keep circling back to the same point: the core car business is losing steam, but the market remains fixated on robotics and self-driving tech. Tesla’s annual sales dropped for the second year running. “It’s about Optimus, Robotaxi and physical AI,” said Dennis Dick, a trader at Triple D Trading, which holds Tesla shares. Reuters
Autonomy remained a hot topic after CES in Las Vegas, where Nvidia and its partners introduced a platform designed to cut costs and accelerate the rollout of self-driving tech. “You could almost see Apple and Android playing out,” observed Russell Ong, formerly a product lead at Zoox, drawing a parallel between Tesla’s closed, proprietary model and Nvidia’s open-source strategy. Reuters
Analysts remain focused. In a Jan. 8 note titled “Tesla in 2026: The dawn of Robotaxis. Top Pick,” New Street Research highlighted how the bull case hinges more on autonomy than on sales volume. New Street Research
Policy shifts continue to shake things up. California Governor Gavin Newsom is pushing for $200 million in fresh state EV rebates, following the end of federal EV tax credits, the state confirmed. At the same time, other federal tweaks might cut automakers’ reliance on snapping up regulatory credits from Tesla.
Upcoming macro data hits fast: Tuesday, Jan. 13 at 8:30 a.m. ET, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) — the government’s key measure of consumer inflation — will drop. The Producer Price Index (PPI), tracking wholesale inflation, follows on Wednesday, Jan. 14, with retail sales on Thursday, Jan. 15. The Fed’s rate-setting committee meets just after, on Jan. 27-28.
But the setup isn’t all positive for Tesla. December’s unemployment rate slid to 4.4%, and rate-futures traders now see fewer chances of a cut by April, shifting their attention toward June. “The drop in the U.S. jobless rate in December should douse the Fed’s recent urgency,” said Olu Sonola, head of U.S. economic research at Fitch Ratings. With higher yields hitting high-multiple growth stocks first, Tesla remains vulnerable, especially given its reliance on updates about demand, margins, and autonomy progress. Reuters
When trading kicks off Monday, eyes will be on whether TSLA can hold above last week’s low around $430 and push back toward $450. Bigger events loom Tuesday: the CPI release, Tesla’s Jan. 28 earnings report and webcast, and the Fed’s actions all fall in that crucial window.
