New York, February 26, 2026, 16:18 EST — After-hours
- Tesla shares dropped roughly 2% after a Reuters report stirred new uncertainty around the company’s robotaxi ambitions in California.
- Tesla’s director has filed notice to sell about $10.5 million in shares.
- Investors are eyeing potential permit changes in California, plus any new insider-sale filings that might follow.
Tesla stock dropped 2.2% Thursday to close at $408.33, after trading as high as $416.81 and hitting a low of $403.66 during the day. 1
Tesla shares slipped after Reuters reported the company has logged zero autonomous test miles on California roads in 2025, marking six years in a row without any. Tesla hasn’t sought permits beyond basic testing with a human safety driver, despite investors banking on the company’s robotaxi ambitions in California, the nation’s top auto market. Reuters pointed out that under proposed state rules, at least 50,000 safety-driver miles are needed before companies can even apply for fully driverless testing. Tesla’s record with California regulators shows no logged miles since 2019, and only 562 miles since 2016. By comparison, Alphabet’s Waymo has racked up over 13 million test miles, and already has permits to take paying passengers in driverless vehicles. Bryant Walker Smith, an expert on autonomous driving, told Reuters that Tesla is suggesting “they are ready and regulators are not,” when really, he said, “regulators are ready, and they are not.” Tesla declined to comment, according to Reuters. 2
Why it matters now: Tesla stock rides on expectations of future cash that haven’t materialized. As questions mount over the robotaxi rollout — including its timing and if regulators will get on board — the conversation shifts to the narrative bulls count on when vehicle demand and pricing get shaky.
Thursday saw a pullback, with investors stepping back from tech and AI-related stocks after Nvidia’s results didn’t fuel further gains. The Nasdaq dropped 1.18%, the S&P 500 shed 0.53%, and the Dow barely budged. “It feels like an Nvidia hangover that’s specific to the AI space,” said Michael Green, chief strategist at Simplify Asset Management. 3
Another filing landed, adding to the weight on the stock. Tesla director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson submitted a Form 144, indicating plans to offload 25,731 Tesla shares—roughly $10.53 million worth. The notice, standard for insiders signaling sales under Rule 144, listed Morgan Stanley Smith Barney as broker and pegged the sale for Feb. 25. 4
Form 144 filings aren’t a sure signal that a sale is coming, nor do they pin down when something might actually trade. Even so, these filings can sway sentiment—especially when traders are already picking apart a drop to decide whether it’s rooted in fundamentals, positioning, or just jitters.
Tesla grabbed attention in Europe after Reuters said the company and German union IG Metall hit pause on their standoff over a labor meeting at Tesla’s Berlin-area factory. The quarrel started when Tesla filed a criminal complaint, claiming a union member had secretly recorded the meeting. Both sides have now agreed to hold off on further accusations until the works council election wraps up next Wednesday, according to IG Metall. Local union chief Jan Otto called the ceasefire a chance for workers to “concentrate fully” on workplace issues. 5
Investors zeroed in on autonomy are asking if Tesla will actually put in the grunt work California regulators require—permit applications, mileage logs, the whole slate of mandatory reporting. Waymo’s documentation lays it out: the state can greenlight driverless ride-hailing, but the process grinds on, heavy with data and not easily sidestepped.
But things could break differently. Should Tesla’s real-world autonomy advances fall short of what’s already baked into the share price—or if regulators clamp down in the wake of headline-grabbing crashes across the industry—the market has a habit of reassessing the robotaxi premium in a hurry, especially when risk appetite is already running low.
Now traders are zeroing in on two things: fresh SEC Form 4 filings that might flag insider sales in the next few sessions, and signs of Tesla chasing more California permits. If Tesla takes that route, the evidence would land in regulatory filings and state mileage logs, not at splashy events.
