Al Root

Tesla stock was up a little in premarket trading, still stuck in neutral while investors wait for AI news.

They got a very small AI morsel on Wednesday.

Shares of the electric vehicle were up 0.3% at $377.17 in premarket trading, while S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up about 0.1%.

Coming into Wednesday, Tesla stock was down about 16% year to date and down about 13% since Tesla reported fourth-quarter earnings in January.

That quarter was fine, but Tesla said it would spend some $20 billion, now raised to $25 billion, on new plants and equipment to accelerate its AI projects, including robo-taxis and robots. (Tesla spent less than $9 billion in 2025.) Those products aren't generating significant sales and earnings yet, leaving investors hungry for progress.

There has been some progress, but it's been slow. Tesla is operating robo-taxis in four cities. It hopes to be in many more cities by the end of the year. Tesla also hasn't shown off version three of its Optimus humanoid robot yet. Tesla was going to unveil it in the first quarter, but Elon Musk opted to nix the reveal, citing the risk of competitors copying Tesla's progress.

"We're also a little hesitant to show V3 off because we find our competitors do a frame-by-frame analysis whenever we release something and copy everything they possibly can," said Musk on April 22. "So I think there's some value to not showing new technology until it's close to production."

All that's left is for investors to wait for more AI news. Very early on Wednesday morning, Musk tweeted about Optimus, calling version three "special."

To be sure, that isn't much at all, but it's what investors have for now.

As for Optimus, assembly line production in Fremont, California, is slated to begin later this year, with significant volumes planned for 2027.

As for when investors will see version three up close? That's anyone's guess. It could be when production starts, likely in late summer. But timelines could slip, or Tesla could change its mind.

That leaves robo-taxi expansion as the best catalyst for shares. Adding cities in Florida, or significantly ramping up rides in cities such as Dallas and Houston, would encourage investors.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com

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April 29, 2026 07:15 ET (11:15 GMT)

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