On June 22, 2025, Elon Musk’s electric vehicle (EV) giant Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) achieved a significant self-driving milestone by unleashing its ‘Robotaxis’ in Austin, Texas. While an ambitious roadmap for subsequent goals has faced numerous alterations since, the move, nonetheless, helped TSLA stock enjoy a substantial 12-month rise.
Specifically, the EV maker’s equity opened on Monday, June 23, 2025, changing hands at $327.54, and met the closing bell at $348.68, for a 6.45% one-session rally.
Considering TSLA stock stands at $393.85 on the morning of June 23, 2026, it rose 20.24% from the morning after the ‘Robotaxi’ launch, and 12.95% from the afternoon on the day.
Thus, investing $1,000 in Tesla shares at the morning bell on June 23, 2025 would have led to $202.40 in profits and made the position worth $1,202.40 by press time on June 23, 2026. Making a purchase of the same size after that day’s rally was over would have led to a stake worth $1,129.55 and a profit of $129.55.
What is next for Tesla stock in 2026?
Elsewhere, though buying into the initial excitement would have been profitable by the summer of 2026, continued confidence in Elon Musk’s car company appears somewhat less defensible by press time.
Tesla stock recorded its closing bell peak at about $490 in late 2025 and has retraced nearly 20% since. Additionally, despite a significant upsurge between late March and mid-May 2026, the equity is down more than 7% year-to-date (YTD).
The business side has not been significantly better for the company than the financial markets, as the firm recorded multiple quarters of dwindling sales and, though it regained substantial market share in California in the first quarter (Q1), the advancement came at the expense of an overall collapse in EV deliveries in the state.
What is next for the Tesla ‘Robotaxi’ rollout in 2026
Simultaneously, the more complete unsupervised ‘Robotaxi’ launch schedule has seen multiple postponements – and is, at press time, expected at the end of the year at the earliest – while Tesla’s allegedly misleading reporting on safety drew scrutiny from both U.S. lawmakers and EU regulators.
Lastly, even if it overcomes the business challenges, Tesla is likely set to face a protracted period of investor skepticism as Elon Musk’s divided attention following X – then Twitter – acquisition could inform investor sentiment in the wake of the SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) initial public offering (IPO)
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