New York, January 7, 2026, 08:44 (EST) — Premarket
- Tesla shares were down about 4% before the open, extending a two-day slide.
- Investors refocused on autonomy and robotics competition after CES headlines and deal news.
- Traders are watching U.S. labor data and Tesla’s Jan. 28 earnings update.
Tesla shares fell 4.1% to $432.96 in premarket trading on Wednesday, putting the stock on track for a second straight drop as the market digested fresh autonomy headlines. 1
The pressure comes as Nvidia this week rolled out “Alpamayo,” an open-source set of AI models and tools aimed at autonomous driving, part of a broader push it framed as a path toward “level 4” systems — vehicles that can drive themselves in specific areas without a human behind the wheel. “Robotaxis are among the first to benefit,” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said. 2
That matters for Tesla because a large slice of investor debate still hangs on what comes after cars: robotaxis and humanoid robots, businesses that are not yet mature. Mobileye, the self-driving technology company, said on Tuesday it would buy humanoid robotics startup Mentee Robotics for about $900 million, and Reuters noted Tesla is among the companies racing to develop two-legged robots; Elon Musk has said he expects humanoid robots to become Tesla’s largest business in the long run. 3
A separate point for traders: a Tesla filing showed director James Murdoch sold 60,000 shares on Jan. 2 through trusts, under a prearranged Rule 10b5-1 plan — a scheduled program that can automatically trigger trades. The Form 4 was filed on Jan. 6. 4
The broader tape was cautious ahead of U.S. labor readings due on Wednesday and Friday, with investors watching how the numbers might shift expectations for Federal Reserve policy. Stock-index futures were little changed after a strong prior session, Reuters reported. 5
Chart watchers also had Tesla on their screens after a sharp Tuesday fall that pushed the stock below its 50-day moving average, a widely watched technical marker. That level often acts as a line between momentum buying and profit-taking in big growth names. 6
But the story can flip fast. Nvidia’s open models do not automatically translate into lost share for Tesla, and any near-term stock swings may say more about risk appetite than about who wins the robotaxi race. Regulation, safety reviews and real-world performance still set the speed limit.
