Tesla Robotaxi Expansion Ignites Stock Surge as Musk Sets 2026 Target

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares climbed about 4% on Friday after the company said its robotaxi rollout is advancing, though at a slower pace than Elon Musk had earlier suggested.

Tesla said the service is operating in Austin, Texas, with a human supervisor still riding in separate support cars outside the city.

Tesla is now targeting a launch in roughly a dozen states by the end of 2026, a more cautious timeline than Musk outlined earlier this year. The company said it wants to avoid injuries or fatalities as it expands the program.

Tesla’s latest results also gave investors more to work with. In the first quarter of 2026, Tesla reported revenue of $16.2 billion, up 16% from a year earlier, while earnings per share rose 8% and net income increased 17%. Tesla’s net margin held at just over 4%, which remains high for an automaker.

Tesla’s balance sheet also looked manageable, with a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Still, Tesla remains closely tied to Musk’s execution, and investors are watching whether the robotaxi effort can turn into a broader commercial business.