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%.
NASDAQ: TSLA
Key Data Points
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.
