Tesla stock has been range-bound in recent months as investors await robo-taxis, robots, and SpaceX.
Shares of the electric-vehicle maker were up 0.1% at $368.25 in premarket trading Tuesday, while S&P 500 futures were down 0.2% and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 0.1%.
The move in Tesla came after a nice 3.8% gain on Monday. Still, that left shares down 18% this year and 18% over the past month. The S&P 500 has risen 12% in 2026 and 14% over the past month.
Tesla stock just hasn't done much of anything for a while. Investors appear to be waiting for an artficial-intelligence breakthrough -- or for SpaceX to announce a merger.
Tesla launched an AI-trained robo-taxi service in June 2025 in Austin, Texas, but scaling the business has been slow, with a handful of cars in a few cities. Investors would like to know when robo-taxis will be ready to expand and contribute to bottom-line profits.
Tesla also recently ripped out the capacity to build Model S and X EVs in favor of humanoid robot building capacity. Still, no one has seen the third version of Tesla's Optimus robot or when Tesla might be in a position to mass-produce a useful robot.
Robots are coming. China's Unitree, for instance, sold shares in an initial public offering in August. It's currently valued at about $20 billion.
What's more, the "Tesla Optimus team recently audited China [automotive] component suppliers Joyson, Sanhua and Tuopu, potentially moving these suppliers from provisional status to certified mass production partners," wrote Citi analyst Jeff Chung in a recent report. Auto suppliers are well-positioned to eventually make the motors and connectors robots need.
"The audit reportedly came with fresh orders at an initial batch of around 5,000 units," added Chung. Investors would like confirmation that Tesla plans to build and sell 5,000 or more robots soon.
As for SpaceX, buzz around a Tesla merger is growing, with Barclays and RBC both writing about the possibility in recent weeks. Barclays said a merger announcement could come before year-end. RBC thought Tesla investors would accept $480 a share.
If and when a Tesla-SpaceX merger will happen is still anyone's guess, but speculation seems to have put a floor under Tesla stock.
Investors will get an update on all three topics this week. SpaceX reports third-quarter results on Tuesday. Tesla reports on Friday. It will be an interesting week for both companies.
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