NEW YORK — Tesla shares snapped higher on Thursday, closing up about 2.6% at $354.81 (NASDAQ: TSLA), a gain of roughly $9 that more than reversed the stock's soft start to the session. After drifting near flat around midday, $TSLA firmed into the close as a broad rally in technology and AI names lifted the whole complex.
The move tracked a buoyant tape. The Nasdaq Composite jumped about 1.6% on the day, led by an outsized 8.7% surge in Nvidia ($NVDA) that rekindled enthusiasm across the AI trade. When chip and AI leaders run, Tesla, increasingly valued as an AI and robotics story, tends to travel with them, and Thursday was a textbook example.
Company news gave the tape a push
Tesla did not rely on the market alone. The session carried a steady drip of favorable company headlines. The company confirmed that Optimus has entered production at its Fremont factory, a landmark first step toward a product Elon Musk has called potentially the most valuable in Tesla's history. Tesla also announced a Semi event for Sept. 24 to mark its new high-volume truck factory, and Nevada regulators raised Tesla's Las Vegas robotaxi cap dramatically, clearing the way for thousands of autonomous vehicles.
Sentiment got another lift from Tesla topping Gartner's 2026 Digital Automaker Index, and from continued momentum in its autonomy rollout, including longer Robotaxi operating hours and a growing driverless fleet. Individually, none of these items is a blockbuster; together, they reinforced the bull case on the very day the market was hungry for AI-linked winners.
The market data
Tesla — NASDAQ: TSLA — finished Thursday at $354.81, up about 2.6% from the prior close of $345.82, with the stock trading in a $345.45 to $355.74 range on volume near 30 million shares. That leaves $TSLA well within its 52-week band of $297.38 to $498.83, and keeps the company's market capitalization around $1.4 trillion. Investors can track live quotes on Yahoo Finance, Google Finance, WSJ, and Nasdaq.
