On November 18, 2025, Tesla shares closed at $401.25, down 1.88%, breaking a two-day winning streak as the company secured an Arizona permit to operate a paid ride-hailing service with human safety drivers. This move comes amid heightened competition with Alphabet’s Waymo, which is expanding its own robotaxi operations, fueling investor concerns about Tesla’s competitive position in autonomous vehicles. Despite CEO Elon Musk’s efforts to boost sentiment by highlighting the potential for a 'major valuation change' if unsupervised self-driving is achieved, the stock’s decline reflects skepticism about Tesla’s ability to maintain its technological lead. Retail sentiment was notably bearish, with some investors questioning Tesla’s valuation relative to traditional automakers.