Tesla stock is back in the red, and this time, it’s not just because of market volatility or investor sentiment swings.
Shares of the electric vehicle giant slipped more than 1% on Thursday, hitting an intraday low of $319, as two forces weighed heavily on the company: a federal probe into its crash reporting practices and lukewarm analyst views on its much-hyped robotaxi rollout.
For investors, this marks yet another bump in what has already been a bruising 2025; Tesla shares are now down about 20% year-to-date.
At the center of the storm is a regulatory headache.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced that it’s auditing Tesla over compliance with crash-reporting requirements. According to the agency, Tesla was late in filing multiple crash reports, in some cases, months after the incidents occurred.
Under federal rules, automakers are required to file such reports within one to five days of learning about a crash. Tesla blamed the delays on a data collection glitch, which it claims has since been fixed, but regulators aren’t taking the company’s word for it.
The Office of Defects Investigation has opened a formal review to figure out whether Tesla’s explanation holds up and whether more undisclosed incidents are still lurking in the background.
That’s a big deal because safety is at the core of Tesla’s public image and regulatory relationship. A perception that the company is sloppy, or worse, withholding information, could trigger more oversight, fines, and stricter conditions for approving future projects. And speaking of projects, Tesla’s robotaxi dream is another cloud hanging over the stock right now.
Wall Street analysts are not exactly buying into the hype just yet.
Goldman Sachs reiterated a neutral rating, pointing out that while the robotaxi rollout could unlock a multi-billion-dollar market opportunity by 2030, the pace of deployment remains highly uncertain.
Barclays struck a similar tone, slapping an “equal weight” rating and setting a price target of $275, notably below where the stock trades today.
The bank emphasized that Tesla faces a long and winding road to securing all the permits required for full autonomous commercial services in California, one of its key markets. What’s more, Barclays suggested Tesla’s engagement with regulators looks more limited than the market assumes, which could mean its robotaxi rollout is narrower in scope than investors hope.
The combination of heightened regulatory scrutiny and tempered analyst expectations is a tough cocktail for Tesla’s stock. Investors who were banking on the robotaxi narrative as the next big growth engine now have to factor in not only a slow approval process but also the possibility of additional compliance hurdles if NHTSA finds deeper issues with crash reporting.
The big picture here is that Tesla is still trying to balance its role as a fast-moving disruptor with the realities of being a heavily scrutinized automaker in one of the most regulated industries in the world.
Yes, the robotaxi vision remains exciting, and if Tesla pulls it off, the payoff could be enormous. But between regulatory probes and a skeptical Wall Street, the road ahead looks anything but smooth. For now, Tesla stock investors should buckle up, because if 2025 has shown anything, it’s that volatility is the new normal for the EV giant.
