Tesla Stock Is Falling as It Tries to Erase the Post-Earnings Dip

Coming into Tuesday trading, Tesla stock was down about 19% year to date and up about 40% over the past 12 months. (Dreamstime)

Tesla shares rose early Tuesday after gaining on Monday, but gains didn’t last as the car maker tries to come out of its post-earnings dip.

Shares of the electric-vehicle maker traded as high as $326.25, but closed down 1.4% at $321.20, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively.

Tesla stock had been going for a three-day winning streak. Shares gained 3.02% on Monday, their second consecutive gain of more than 3% following an 8.2% dip on Thursday after the company reported second-quarter earnings on Wednesday evening. The early high on Wednesday left Tesla stock about $6 lower than levels just before it reported second-quarter earnings on July 23.

Results were roughly in line with Wall Street expectations, but CEO Elon Musk warned of some “rough quarters” ahead with the U.S. EV industry losing the federal purchase tax credit and other regulatory support. Tesla management also implied that its long-awaited lower-priced vehicle was a stripped-down version of the company’s Model Y and not a completely different car. That disappointed some investors, too.

Investors, however, just aren’t that focused on cars right now. They want to see Tesla expand its artificial-intelligence-related businesses. Tesla launched an AI-trained robo-taxi service in Austin, Texas, in June. What’s more, Musk spoke over the weekend about Tesla’s AI-trained humanoid robot Optimus. Tesla is on version three of the robot and plans to make significant quantities of the robot in 2026.

Tesla investors have been aware of Tesla’s AI focus, self-driving cars, robots, and struggling EV business for months. That’s probably the simplest explanation for the stock bouncing back after earnings.

Coming into Tuesday trading, Tesla stock was down about 19% year to date and up about 40% over the past 12 months.

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