Tesla stock fell early Thursday, tracking broader market weakness and investor uncertainty ahead of a key shareholder vote on CEO Elon Musk’s pay package.
At the time of writing, the Tesla stock was down over 4% to $440.31.
The decline comes in a down market, but sentiment around Tesla has also been clouded by fresh developments concerning corporate governance and autonomous driving efforts.
Bloomberg reported that California asset manager Calpers is opposing Musk’s proposed $1 trillion compensation plan, which will be voted on during Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting on November 6.
The opposition from one of the largest public pension funds adds another layer of uncertainty.
Analysts, however, generally expect the pay package to be approved.
A rejection would likely inject fresh volatility into Tesla’s stock and could further strain relations between Musk and shareholders.
Broader tech weakness adds to pressure
Tesla’s decline also coincided with weakness in several major technology names after their latest earnings reports.
Shares of Meta Platforms and Microsoft fell 8.3% and 2.7%, respectively, in early trading, while Alphabet gained 7.4% after its quarterly results exceeded expectations.
Tesla is often viewed as part of the broader artificial intelligence trade, given investor expectations that its AI-driven robotaxi and robotics businesses could become major earnings drivers in the future.
That association leaves the stock vulnerable to shifts in sentiment across the AI and technology sectors.
Cybertruck recall
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Tesla is recalling 6,197 model year 2024 Cybertrucks to fix an issue with a light bar.
It marks the 10th recall for the vehicle.
Still, such recalls are routine in the auto industry and rarely have a material impact on stock performance unless repair costs are significant or safety concerns are severe.
The latest issue involving roughly 6,000 vehicles does not appear to meet either threshold.
So far this year, Tesla has recalled about 750,000 vehicles, while the 12 largest automakers have collectively recalled around 26 million units, according to NHTSA data.
Robotaxi rollout faces regulatory roadblocks
Separately, Tesla shares have come under renewed pressure following reports that the company is falling behind on its autonomous ride-hailing service plans.
According to The Information, Musk has lowered expectations for Tesla’s robotaxi rollout, which he has described as essential to the company’s long-term future.
Tesla has reportedly not completed regulatory filings required to offer robotaxi rides in Arizona and Nevada—two of the three additional states Musk previously said would see service launches by the end of 2025.
While Florida’s looser regulatory framework could allow for earlier operations, Tesla has yet to apply for approval in California, where it currently tests its autonomous vehicles with human safety drivers.
The delays challenge Musk’s revised target to launch the service in 8–10 US metro areas within the next two months, a sharp reduction from his July goal of reaching “half the US population by the end of 2025.”
Varying state and municipal regulations continue to complicate the company’s ambitions for a large-scale rollout of fully autonomous vehicles.
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