Tesla Stock Remains 'Highly Contentious' -- Barrons.com

By Al Root

Tesla stock dropped early Tuesday, along with the market. It remains stuck as investors wait for the company's AI business to take off.

Shares of the EV maker were down 1.7% in early trading at $333.49, while S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were off 0.5% and flat, respectively. Tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite futures were down 1.3%, with bond yields edging higher.

Coming into the day, Tesla stock was down about 25% this year and up just 1% over the past 12 months. Shares haven't done much (positive) for months as investors wait for AI progress.

Tesla launched an AI-trained robo-taxi service in June 2025. It's operating in a number of cities, but the rollout has been slow. The company is preparing to introduce steering wheel-less Cybercab robo-taxis soon, according to The Information, which could be a catalyst for shares. Tesla didn't respond to Barron's request for comment about its Cybercab plans.

It is also preparing to build AI-trained humanoid robots, but investors haven't seen the capabilities of Tesla's robot, Optimus, in a while.

Tesla investor sentiment remains "highly contentious (as always) with majority of inbound [client calls] tied to SpaceX," wrote Baird analyst Ben Kallo on Tuesday. Many investors are also waiting for Elon Musk to combine his two trillion-dollar companies.

As for Tesla specifically, investors are focused on robots and robo-taxis, says Kallo. It's all about the future, and investors "have reached a point where fundamentals are extremely de-emphasized."

The car and power businesses simply don't matter as much as AI potential right now.

Kallo rates Tesla stock Buy and has a $475 price target for shares. Overall, 45% of analysts covering shares rate them Buy, according to FactSet. The average Buy-rating ratio for S&P 500 stocks typically ranges from 55% to 60%. The average analyst price target for Tesla shares is about $374, down from a March peak of about $415.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@barrons.com.

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August 18, 2026 07:18 ET (11:18 GMT)