Next Up For Tesla's Self-Driving Tech: Potholes -- Barrons.com

By Al Root

Tesla stock dipped early Monday with investors waiting for more self-driving updates. The company continues to work on its autonomous driving technology. Pothole avoidance is coming soon, according to Elon Musk.

Shares of the electric vehicle maker were down 0.6% in premarket trading at $346.84, while S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were both off about 0.2%.

It was a relatively quiet weekend for Tesla with little Wall Street news for investors to digest. CEO Elon Musk, however, is always tweeting. He responded to a request about pothole avoidance when using Tesla's Full Self Driving, or FSD, driver assistance product with "coming soon."

FSD is the basis for Tesla's driver assistance and robo-taxi products. In personal vehicles, it still requires human oversight 100% of the time, but FSD can do most of the driving most of the time-including parking in driveways and parking lots. As for robo-taxis, Tesla launched a service in June 2025 and has been slowly rolling out service to more cities.

The slow rollout is one reason Tesla stock has been stuck for months. Coming into Monday trading, shares were up about 4% over the past 12 months, and flat since the June 2025 robo-taxi launch.

A measured pace is important to maintain safety, which is paramount for the nascent robo-taxi industry, according to Musk. Tesla and others have to get it right to ensure consumer and regulatory adoption. To be sure, self-driving technology isn't easy. There are endless problems to overcome, such as potholes.

Tesla has made steady progress, though. Investors are looking for another step up in FSD performance when version 15 is released, likely in late 2026 or early 2027.

The stakes are high. Wall Street sees robo-taxis becoming a trillion-dollar business. Americans drive more than three trillion miles annually. Typical ride-hailing apps charge $1 to $2 per mile. Without a driver, that price should drop dramatically-expanding the ride-hailing market that Tesla is targeting.

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

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August 31, 2026 07:55 ET (11:55 GMT)