NEW YORK, Jan 7, 2026, 09:36 EST — Regular session
- Tesla shares fell about 4% in early trading as investors weighed fresh CES headlines in self-driving tech.
- Nvidia this week unveiled “Alpamayo,” an open portfolio of AI models and tools aimed at speeding autonomous-vehicle development.
- A filing showed Tesla director James Murdoch sold 60,000 shares under a prearranged trading plan.
Tesla stock fell 4.1% to $432.96 in early trading on Wednesday after opening lower, as traders digested a new wave of autonomous-driving announcements around the CES tech show.
The drop matters because Tesla’s bull case has leaned heavily on Full Self-Driving — a driver-assistance system that still requires supervision — and on a small robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, even as the industry crowds CES with autonomy pitches. “This year you will see more and more focus on AI and autonomous,” said C.J. Finn, PwC’s U.S. automotive industry leader, as automakers juggle shifting EV incentives and cost pressure. 1
Nvidia said on Monday it was releasing Alpamayo, a package of open AI models, simulation tools and datasets meant to tackle rare “long-tail” driving scenarios — the odd, infrequent situations that can trip up automated systems. Nvidia said the portfolio is aimed at speeding progress toward Level 4 autonomy, where a vehicle can drive itself without a human in defined conditions, and CEO Jensen Huang said “robotaxis are among the first to benefit.” 2
Other CES-linked moves have kept attention on whether city-street automation is spreading beyond Tesla. Mercedes-Benz said it will launch an advanced driver-assistance system in the United States later this year that lets vehicles operate autonomously on city streets under driver supervision, pricing it at $3,950 for three years, Reuters reported; Tesla’s Full Self-Driving package costs about $8,000 or $99 a month. 3
A separate catalyst landed in filings. A Form 4 filed on Jan. 6 showed Tesla director James Murdoch sold a total of 60,000 shares on Jan. 2 under a Rule 10b5-1 plan — a prearranged trading program — adopted in May 2025, at weighted-average prices ranging from about $435.87 to $457.88 per share. 4
Tesla has its own near-term checkpoint. The company said it delivered 418,227 vehicles in the fourth quarter and deployed 14.2 GWh of energy storage, and it is due to report results after the close on Jan. 28; investors are bracing for a read on margins, cash generation and what comes next for autonomy and subscriptions. 5
Chief Executive Elon Musk has tried to tamp down the competitive read-through from Nvidia. Responding on X, Musk said it would be “5 or 6 years, but probably longer” before Nvidia-backed systems became meaningful competitive pressure, Business Insider reported. 6
But the market’s unease is simple: open tools do not mean safe, scalable driverless services, and proving that in real traffic is slow, expensive and bound up in regulation. If timelines slip — or if autonomy becomes more of a platform business where multiple players share similar building blocks — Tesla’s premium narrative can get repriced quickly.
Traders are watching for more CES tie-ups and technical disclosures through the week, but the next hard catalyst for Tesla stock is Jan. 28, when the company reports results and fields questions on 2026 priorities.
