By Al Root
Tesla stock feels as if it is on the cusp of one of its hard-to-explain runs higher. Investors appear to be expecting more autonomous driving news.
The shares were down 1.1% at $423.51 in premarket trading, while S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were both down less than 0.1%.
The move shaves a little off the recent rally. Shares gained almost 10% this past week, adding roughly 2%, 3%, and 4% on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, respectively.
There weren't any material Wall Street upgrades or price target changes driving gains. Instead, investors are looking at Elon Musk's social-media platform X for information about Tesla's autonomous driving technology.
Tweets suggest Tesla is close to rolling out its Full Self-Driving, or FSD, driver-assistance technology in China. FSD has more than a million subscribers in the U.S. and can handle most driving most of the time. The system still requires supervision by Tesla drivers.
Tesla didn't respond to a request for comment about FSD in China.
A Chinese release would open a new revenue stream in the world's largest market for electric vehicles. Americans can pay $99 a month for FSD. In April, Tesla reported 1.3 million FSD subscriptions at the end of the first quarter, up from about 850,000 a year ago.
(Tesla generated more than 20% of its 2025 revenue in China.)
It would also signal AI progress. Tesla has pinned its future on AI applications such as FSD, robo-taxis, and humanoid robots. Tesla launched a robo-taxi service in Austin, Texas, in June. It's expanded to four cities, including test markets. What's more, Tesla should unveil the third generation of its humanoid, Optimus, later this year.
The recent rally still leaves Tesla stock about 14% below its all-time high of almost $500 per share reached in December. Coming into Monday trading, Tesla stock was down 5% year to date and up 44% over the past 12 months.
Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 11, 2026 07:07 ET (11:07 GMT)
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