Filings show that the Thiel Macro fund reduced its position in Tesla by 76% in January 2026, reallocating proceeds into Apple shares. Thiel now ranks Tesla as his largest holding despite the sale, while the new Apple allocation is his smallest. The move reflects skepticism about Tesla’s stretched valuation—its price-to-sales ratio of roughly 16 and forward price-to-earnings near 195—against weakening overseas market share and rising competition in autonomous vehicles. By retaining a substantial Tesla stake, Thiel positions for a potential breakthrough in the company’s robotaxi program, while the Apple allocation serves as a defensive hedge should growth names face a market rotation.

Last week, Tesla removed its basic driver-assistance package from new vehicle configurations in North America, leaving only Traffic Aware Cruise Control as standard. The company will discontinue the one-time purchase option for its advanced ’Full Self-Driving’ software on February 14, transitioning customers to a subscription priced at $99 per month. This strategic shift follows regulatory pressure from California’s DMV, which mandated discontinuation of the ’Autopilot’ name to curb consumer confusion over system capabilities. Tesla expects subscription revenue to become a significant profit driver as FSD features improve and monthly pricing escalates over time.

On January 22, Tesla began operating fully unsupervised robotaxis in Austin, marking the first commercial deployment without in-car safety monitors. The move validates years of internal testing and paves the way for the Cybercab rollout in April 2026. Investors have bid up the stock on expectations that autonomous ride-hailing could transform Tesla’s business model from hardware sales to high-margin software services. Meanwhile, the energy storage division recorded a record 14.2 GWh deployment in Q4, driving full-year growth of 49%. When Tesla reports Q4 results on January 28, key metrics will include operating margin stabilization—after a 5.8% trough in Q3—and guidance on regulatory approvals for supervised FSD in Europe and China, both of which could unlock new subscription markets.