At the company’s recent update, CEO Elon Musk cautioned that initial volumes of the Cybercab robotaxi and the Optimus humanoid robot will be “agonizingly slow” before scaling up. Production of the Cybercab is slated to begin later this year, but early runs may number in the low hundreds of vehicles per quarter, while Optimus output will remain in the dozens of units. This deliberate ramp reflects Tesla’s decision to perfect software and hardware integration before committing mass resources to full-scale deployment.

Tesla delivered 1.636 million vehicles in 2025, down from 1.789 million in 2024, and posted a 37% year-over-year drop in net income, reflecting cooling demand in key markets. Despite this slowdown, the stock trades at a price-to-earnings ratio exceeding 300, far above peers in both technology and automotive sectors. Analysts warn that the current valuation relies heavily on speculative success of autonomous ride-hailing and AI initiatives rather than near-term cash flow generation.

In recent sessions, Tesla shares have swung sharply—falling about 4% on January 20 after tariff threats linked to trade tensions rattled megacap technology stocks, and dropping nearly 3% on another trading day as broader market risk-off flows picked up pace. Separately, traders remain watchful of any move by Elon Musk to liquidate shares to fund large acquisitions, recalling his 2022 Twitter purchase, which could introduce further supply pressure and exacerbate short-term volatility.