New York, February 27, 2026, 07:41 EST — Premarket
- Tesla shares ticked down in premarket action, following a steep decline the previous day.
- Tesla recorded no autonomous test miles in California for 2025, according to a Reuters report, a shortfall that kept crucial robotaxi permits off the table.
- There’s a director eyeing a share sale, while new labor news from Germany is also drawing investor attention.
Tesla shares slipped 0.2% before the bell Friday, following a 2.1% drop to $408.58 at Thursday’s close. 1
Tesla didn’t log a single mile of autonomous test driving on California roads in 2025, nor did it push forward on the permit process for driverless robotaxis during the year, according to a Reuters report. That’s a core issue for CEO Elon Musk, who’s pitched robotaxis as central to Tesla’s future. “Regulators are ready, and they are not,” said autonomous-driving specialist Bryant Walker Smith. Back in October, Musk described the company as “paranoid about safety” on an earnings call. 2
Why it matters now: Tesla’s lofty market cap leans heavily on hopes it can ramp up autonomy and push its profitable driving software. California stands as the top U.S. auto market—and it’s also one of the strictest when it comes to launching driverless ride-hailing. There’s no skipping the permit process here.
Tesla shares have seen sharper moves lately, with traders keying off changes in the self-driving storyline. The autonomy angle has taken on greater weight as the company pushes further into robotaxis and software, now at the heart of its growth strategy.
Tesla shares dropped 2.11% on Thursday, with volume topping 53 million—well above typical levels as tech sentiment soured. 3
Stock futures slipped before the bell, as traders eyed “all things AI” and braced for the January producer price index—data that could sway expectations for the Fed’s next move on rates. 4
Tesla grabbed some headlines in Europe after German union IG Metall said both sides are putting their dispute over a labor meeting at the automaker’s Berlin-area plant on ice for now. According to a local union chief, the pause gives workers space to focus on “the issues” before a works council vote scheduled for next Wednesday. 5
Investors got something else to chew on from another filing: Tesla director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson signaled plans to sell 25,731 shares, worth roughly $10.53 million, according to a Form 144 notice. The planned sale is part of a stock options exercise and a pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plan, per the document. (A Form 144 notifies regulators of a proposed insider sale.)
Tesla faces a different kind of risk: robotaxi rollout could stall on regulatory snags, not just technical ones. Without tangible progress inside California’s approval process—territory where Alphabet’s Waymo has notched key wins—investors might start discounting the company’s autonomy narrative. That could sting, given that the market’s already casting a skeptical eye on AI returns.
After the inflation numbers on Friday, attention turns to March 6 for the U.S. jobs report, with late-season earnings also on the radar as investors hunt for clues on growth and risk appetite. “There is very little definitive right now,” said Kristina Hooper, chief market strategist at Man Group, commenting on the market’s ongoing AI winner-loser debate. 6
