Tesla (TSLA) shares turned negative in premarket trading on Friday after the much-anticipated US-China summit concluded without any trade deals or regulatory announcements, dashing hopes that Beijing would soon approve the company’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software. The stock fell 1.9% to $434.72, erasing earlier weekly gains.
CEO Elon Musk, who joined President Donald Trump’s business delegation in Beijing, had fueled speculation of a breakthrough. Investors were particularly focused on potential FSD approval, which would unlock a major new revenue stream in the world’s largest electric vehicle market. Tesla generates over 20% of its revenue from China, and FSD subscriptions reached 1.3 million in Q1 2026, up from 850,000 a year earlier.
Chinese state media reported that President Xi Jinping told US executives that China’s market would “only open wider and wider,” but no concrete agreements materialized. Trump later confirmed that tariffs were not discussed and that no commitments were made. The lack of progress weighed on Tesla’s AI-driven valuation narrative, which increasingly depends on monetizing autonomous driving and robotaxi services.
Despite the setback, Tesla had rallied over 14% in the prior six sessions on optimism surrounding FSD approval. The broader crypto market showed little direct reaction to the Tesla news, though sentiment around tech and AI-related tokens remained cautious.
