Why Is Tesla Stock Up Today?
Key Points
Tesla shares rose Friday after Clark County, Nevada, cleared the company to run driverless robotaxis in Las Vegas, and news surfaced that its electric semi truck soon will make its European debut.
Tesla's approval covers up to 5,000 robotaxis -- the largest share by far of the 8,000 driverless vehicles Clark County authorized across Tesla, Alphabet's Waymo, and Uber over the next year.
Much of Tesla's valuation still rests on revenue lines that don't exist yet.
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Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock finished Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, up 5.1%, on news that it received approval to bring its robotaxis to Las Vegas. The company also confirmed a European debut for its electric semi truck.
Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite finished Friday up 0.4%.
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Clark County cleared Tesla for up to 5,000 robotaxis in Las Vegas
On Thursday, Clark County, Nevada, cleared Tesla, Alphabet's Waymo, and Uber to begin running robotaxi services in Las Vegas -- driverless cars that pick up paying passengers with no one behind the wheel. Together, the three can put as many as 8,000 robotaxis on local roads over the next year.
But Tesla got the largest share of that by a wide margin -- its approval covers up to 5,000 vehicles.
Image source: Getty Images.
The stock also got a boost from the news that Tesla plans to show its new all-electric semi-truck at an international transportation expo in Germany as it gears up for a European launch.
Tesla's valuation leans on businesses that don't exist yet
These are exciting developments, no doubt, but both projects remain in their development stages, far from true commercial deployment. Tesla's stock is too richly valued, and for my money, too much of that value is derived from lines of business that may never materialize.
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Johnny Rice has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
