Tesla (TSLA) Stock Jumps 3% on Trump Praise, Defying Delivery Miss and Robotaxi Delays

Politician's praise trumps fundamentals—for now.

The Trump Bump

Shares of Tesla surged 3% following public praise from a prominent political figure, showcasing the market's continued susceptibility to headline-driven sentiment over operational performance.

Delivery Reality Check

The climb comes despite the company missing its quarterly delivery targets. Production and logistics hurdles remain a persistent drag, a familiar story for followers of the EV giant's volatile execution.

Robotaxi Roadblocks

Further complicating the narrative are delays to the highly anticipated autonomous robotaxi platform. The timeline for a commercial rollout slips further into the future, testing investor patience for moonshot projects.

The Cynical Take

It's a classic Wall Street maneuver: a charismatic soundbite can temporarily paper over missed numbers and delayed tech, proving once again that in modern markets, perception often fuels the engine more reliably than production lines. The real test comes when the applause dies down and the delivery vans still aren't full.

TLDR

• Tesla stock jumped 3% to $451.05 after President Trump praised Elon Musk as a “great innovator” and called Tesla a symbol of American tech leadership.
• Q4 2025 vehicle deliveries dropped 16% year-over-year to 418,227 units, missing analyst expectations and marking the second straight year of declining annual deliveries.
• The Optimus humanoid robot project is experiencing delays, with robots still manually assembled and lacking fine-motor capabilities needed for commercialization.
• Cantor Fitzgerald maintained its Overweight rating with a $510 price target, citing upcoming catalysts like FSD rollout in China and Europe.
• Tesla’s energy storage business showed strength, deploying a record 46.7 GWh for the full year 2025, up from 31.4 GWh in 2024.

Tesla stock climbed 3% to trade at $451.05 on January 6 as investors reacted to fresh political tailwinds. President Donald TRUMP publicly praised CEO Elon Musk, calling him a “great innovator” and positioning Tesla as a symbol of American technological leadership.

Tesla, Inc., TSLA

The endorsement appears designed to strengthen Trump’s ties with the tech sector ahead of the 2026 election cycle. Markets responded quickly, with retail sentiment turning more bullish on the stock.

But the political boost arrives at a tough moment for Tesla’s Core business. The company delivered 418,227 vehicles in Q4 2025, falling short of the 422,850 consensus estimate. That marks a 16% drop compared to the same quarter in 2024.

For the full year, Tesla delivered 1.64 million vehicles. That missed the company’s 2 million target for the second year running. Annual deliveries declined from 2024’s figure of 1.75 million.

The miss comes as EV tax incentives phase out in key markets. Competition from Chinese and European automakers continues to heat up. Tesla’s market dominance is clearly under pressure.

Cantor Fitzgerald isn’t backing away. The firm reiterated its Overweight rating with a $510 price target. That represents 16% upside from current levels.

The firm pointed to several 2026 catalysts. Full Self-Driving rollout in China and Europe is expected in the first half. Robotaxi expansion and the Cybercab introduction are slated for later in the year. Semi truck production should start in Q2.

Robot Dreams Meet Reality

Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot project is hitting roadblocks. Internal reports suggest the program is falling behind Musk’s ambitious timeline.

Sources say the robots are still manually assembled. They lack the fine-motor capabilities needed for factory work. Software coordination issues remain unresolved.

Musk has repeatedly claimed Optimus could be central to Tesla’s future valuation. But initial hopes for factory-wide deployment by 2026 have quietly faded. Near-term commercialization now looks uncertain.

The setbacks matter because Tesla’s pivot to AI and robotics is looking less optional. With vehicle demand softening, these next-generation projects need to deliver. Right now, they’re not.

Energy Storage Shines

One bright spot: energy storage. Tesla deployed 14.2 GWh of storage products in Q4 2025, beating the 13.4 GWh consensus. That compares to 11.0 GWh in Q4 2024.

For the full year, energy storage hit a company record of 46.7 GWh. That’s up from 31.4 GWh in 2024. The growth comes as Tesla faces pressure on gross profit margins, which stand at 17.01% for the last twelve months.

Technical indicators show mixed signals. The stock is finding support around $430, which aligns with the rising trendline from October 2025 lows and the 50-day moving average. A break below could send shares toward the $400-$410 range.

The relative strength index sits just below 60, suggesting room to run before overbought conditions. But volume on green days remains modest. Institutional accumulation hasn’t kicked in yet, hinting the current rally might be reactionary rather than conviction-based.

Resistance sits near $475, a level that capped gains in mid-December. Breaking through WOULD require clear operational progress or new momentum from AI initiatives.

Tesla will report Q4 2025 earnings after market close on January 28. Despite recent delivery challenges, shares have gained 38.92% over the past six months. Production declined to 434,358 vehicles in Q4 2025 from 459,445 in Q4 2024.