Tesla stock declined over 2% on Thursday and continued to slip on Friday, heading for another weekly loss. The drop tracked broader market weakness and was tied to renewed scrutiny over the company's progress toward launching fully autonomous robotaxis.
A Reuters report revealed that Tesla logged zero miles of autonomous test driving in California in 2025. While Tesla holds a basic permit from the California DMV, it has not applied for the additional approvals required to operate fully driverless vehicles. Under proposed regulations, Tesla would need to log at least 50,000 autonomous miles with a safety driver before applying for a permit to test without one. State records show Tesla has not logged any autonomous miles with regulators since 2019 and only 562 miles in total since 2016.
This stands in stark contrast to rival Waymo, owned by Alphabet. Waymo logged over 13 million testing miles between 2014 and 2023, secured seven regulatory approvals, and is one of three companies with permits to commercially operate driverless vehicles in California. Reports also indicated Tesla's current "robotaxi" service in the San Francisco Bay Area operates as a chauffeur model with human drivers using the Full Self-Driving software, which remains a driver-assistance system.
Further pressure came on Friday with the announcement that Victor Nechita, Tesla's Cybercab program manager, is departing the company. His exit comes just as the first purpose-built Cybercab, a robo-taxi with no steering wheel, rolled off the assembly line. Tesla plans to expand its robo-taxi service from its pilot in Austin, Texas, to nine cities by mid-2026, slightly behind Waymo's current operations in 10 cities.
Earlier in the week, Tesla sued California auto authorities over a previous ruling that concluded the company falsely promoted its vehicles as self-driving. The DMV had argued Tesla's 2022 marketing of its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems suggested autonomous operation despite requiring a safety driver.
Despite these challenges, robotaxis and AI remain central to Tesla's long-term strategy and its lofty valuation. Tesla's stock trades at over 200 times estimated 2026 earnings, roughly 10 times the S&P 500 average. Wall Street analysts maintain a Hold consensus with an average price target of $396.80, implying slight downside from current levels around $405-$408.
