New York, Feb 10, 2026, 16:06 (ET) — After-hours
- Tesla picked up almost 2% in after-hours action, leaving the broader market essentially unchanged.
- Tesla has put its Europe chief, Joe Ward, in charge of global sales, Bloomberg reported, following the recent departure of its North America sales leader.
- Eyes are on Wednesday’s U.S. jobs data, with Germany’s works council vote in March also on the radar.
Tesla climbed 1.9% to finish at $425.42 in late Tuesday action, bouncing around between $416.74 and $427.21. That jump left the stock ahead of the S&P 500 ETF, which was barely changed, while the Nasdaq 100 tracker slipped.
Investors pushed the stock higher while digesting news of fresh changes in Tesla’s sales leadership—this as demand takes center stage over hype. Bloomberg News said Tesla tapped Joe Ward, who runs its European operations, to take charge of global sales, following the exit of Raj Jegannathan, head of North American sales. The company didn’t comment right away, according to the report. 1
Across the board, traders have mostly stayed on the sidelines, wary of making bold moves with key U.S. data still on tap and rate-cut odds jumping around week after week. “Bad news is good news,” said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott, referring to the latest retail sales numbers. Still, he said, “nobody wants to get too far above their risk budget” right before the delayed nonfarm payrolls report lands on Wednesday. 2
Tesla is dealing with more labor tensions at its Gruenheide facility outside Berlin. According to a memo shared with staff and reviewed by Reuters, the company has filed a criminal complaint against a member of Germany’s IG Metall union, accusing them of surreptitiously taping a closed-door works council session—these meetings are off-limits to outsiders under German law. Tesla confirmed the details in the memo. IG Metall, for its part, blasted Tesla’s version as a “calculated lie,” just weeks before the works council elections slated for March. 3
Top-level exits at Tesla are now baked into the story. When leaders from sales or ops walk, Wall Street often takes it as a sign that shifting EVs isn’t getting any easier amid stiff competition.
Tesla’s focus isn’t just on cars anymore. The company is emphasizing the potential from software and autonomy, with its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system — a driver-assist feature that, despite the name, still needs someone behind the wheel.
The bullish thesis for the stock comes down to execution on schedule—miss a target, and that’s a problem. Demand softens again, incentives creep up, or the autonomy timeline drifts? Traders don’t wait. Pricing shifts fast for next quarter.
Competition keeps biting. Chinese players and old-guard carmakers are rolling out cheaper models, pressuring prices throughout the sector and pushing firms into a fight to hold onto their sales volumes.
Tesla shares are back to behaving like a classic macro-sensitive growth stock—jumping on rate relief, dropping fast when surprise data hits.
Another hurdle is just ahead. On Wednesday, the U.S. payrolls report lands, and traders are set to scan it for rate signals. At the same time, eyes stay on possible moves within Tesla’s sales unit, while the March works council elections in Germany linger as an immediate headline risk.
