New York, Feb 24, 2026, 16:17 EST — After-hours
Tesla (TSLA.O) finished Tuesday’s session up 2.4% at $409.38, bouncing back after sliding 2.9% on Monday. Shares moved between $397.64 and $410.82, with volume reaching roughly 55.6 million.
Tesla’s stock price still hinges on immediate car demand, mixed with hopes for self-driving and robotics down the road. Both themes hit center stage this week, and the market showed little tolerance for not knowing the outcome.
European car registrations data from ACEA painted a mixed picture: Tesla posted a 17% year-on-year drop in January, marking its thirteenth consecutive month of falling sales. BYD, the Chinese automaker, saw registrations soar 165%. The broader market wasn’t spared—total European car sales slipped 3.5%.
A U.S. judge declined to toss out a lawsuit claiming Tesla favored foreign workers over American citizens in its hiring, allegedly to cut labor costs. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria said the plaintiff’s complaint included “just enough facts” to let the case move forward, though he admitted being “somewhat skeptical” about the engineer’s chances. The lawsuit points to a recruiter describing a position as “H1B only,” referring to the visa program for skilled foreign hires. Reuters
The self-driving question is still hanging over the sector, especially with no consensus on the next stage. As Reuters notes, nearly all assisted-driving systems—including Tesla’s Full Self-Driving—sit at Level 2, meaning drivers have to stay alert. Level 3, where drivers could theoretically look away in certain scenarios, comes with sky-high development costs, running as much as $1.5 billion. Former Waymo chief John Krafcik didn’t mince words: “the juice isn’t worth the squeeze.” Tesla, for its part, has rolled out a limited robotaxi service and is aiming to hit a few U.S. cities in the first half of 2026, putting it head-to-head with Alphabet’s Waymo. Reuters
Tesla climbed along with other growth stocks, tracking Wall Street’s rebound as tech shares regained momentum and speculation swirled around the impact of AI. “Nobody wants to be the last one holding the bag on some of these names as they get repriced,” said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth. Reuters
Still, the bounce only goes so far. Persistent drops in Europe demand, steeper price wars, or stricter watchdogs scrutinizing driver-assist promises—all of that could push traders to revisit Tesla’s recurring worry: just how much of the company’s lofty value depends on lines that haven’t reached full scale yet.
Nvidia’s numbers are due out Wednesday (Feb. 25), and with all the action in “AI-linked” names lately, investors are bracing for fresh signals on AI demand. U.S. trade policy is back in focus too, after the Supreme Court tossed out much of President Donald Trump’s tariffs while the president floated the idea of more duties. Reuters
