Prediction: Tesla's Joyride Will Come to a Screeching Halt in 2026 (Spoiler Alert: Elon Broke Another Promise)

There may be no other company with a future that hinges more on artificial intelligence (AI) than Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA). As it stands today, Tesla's core revenue streams come from electric vehicles (EV) and solar energy equipment.

For years, however, the company's eccentric CEO Elon Musk has been promising to revolutionize the business through AI. Specifically, Tesla is seeking to build a fleet of fully autonomous vehicles in an effort to upend the mobility market.

As of this writing (Dec. 16), Tesla stock is hovering near all-time highs. The reason? Musk recently provided a well-received update on the company's robotaxi efforts.

While this is exciting news, my bold prediction for 2026 is that Tesla's joyride may come to a screeching halt. Read on to find out why.

Tesla has a history is misleading investors

While Tesla has achieved a number of remarkable feats throughout its history, the company isn't known for staying the course with deadlines.

The list below is a summary of missed deadlines and overzealous promises made by Musk over the last several years:

• 2017: Musk said that a Tesla would be able to drive across the country, from Los Angeles to New York, fully autonomously. Nearly a decade later, this has never happened.
• 2017: Tesla unveiled its plan for a semi truck back in 2017. Initially, production schedules for the Tesla Semi were set for 2019. In reality, the company delayed its initial production until 2022. Moreover, Tesla Semi remains in pilot mode, and mass production hasn't yet occurred.
• 2017: Nearly 10 years ago, Tesla unveiled the idea of a next-generation vehicle, dubbed the Roadster 2.0. The original target date for initial production was 2020, but as of now, the car hasn't been released.
• 2019: Back in 2019, Musk predicted that Tesla would have 1 million robotaxis on the road by 2020. Midway through this decade, robotaxi has not yet launched in a commercial sense. Its usage remains limited in Austin, Texas as further testing and regulatory approvals are needed.
• 2019: After unveiling the Cybertruck in 2019, Tesla targeted initial production timelines for 2021. A series of delays plagued the Cybertruck launch, which didn't materialize until late 2023.
• 2020-2024: Over the last several years, Musk has suggested on numerous occasions that the company's full self-driving (FSD) technology would be complete. While FSD has made some meaningful improvements, it remains a work in a progress.

While the timeline above serves as nice summary of Tesla's misleading statements, what does any of this have to do with robotaxi?

Image source: Tesla.

2026 might not be any different

During Tesla's second-quarter earnings call in July, Musk said:

As we get the approvals and prove out safety, we will be launching the autonomous ride-hailing across most of the country. I think we will probably have autonomous ride-hailing in probably half the population of the U.S. by the end of the year. That's at least our goal, subject to regulatory approvals. I think we will technically be able to do it. Assuming we have regulatory approvals, it's probably addressing half the population of the U.S. by the end of the year.

Over the summer, Tesla launched robotaxi in Austin, Texas and the San Francisco Bay area. However, there was a major catch. The ride-hailing service was fairly limited in its launch, and the cars featured human safety drivers as a precaution.

Just days ago, Musk posted on X (formerly Twitter) that further testing in robotaxi was ongoing without any occupants in the cars. Naturally, the Tesla investor base cheered and the stock popped.

Here's the reality: Musk implied that the robotaxi would be serving a multitude of major markets in the U.S. by the end of the year. It's mid-December now, and robotaxi hasn't launched as a commercial service. While regulatory processes can be arduous, I'm suspicious if that's the sole reason the robotaxi hasn't met Musk's prior timeline goal.

Image source: Getty Images.

Is Tesla stock a buy before 2026?

As of this writing, Tesla boasts a price-to-sales ratio (P/S) of 17.6 and a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of nearly 320. For context, a P/S at this level is abnormally high for an automobile business. Likewise, Tesla's P/E multiple is unsustainable -- regardless of its core industry.

TSLA PS Ratio data by YCharts.

Throughout 2025, Tesla's valuation has expanded significantly. All the while, the company's EV business -- it's largest driver of sales and profit -- is in major decline and showing no signs of improvement. Moreover, robotaxi still hasn't launched or become a meaningful financial contributor for the business.

Against this backdrop, I think Tesla stock is largely influenced by narratives, hope, and hype, as opposed to the actual underlying performance of the business and where its AI ambitions truly stand. For these reasons, I'd hold off investing in Tesla stock in 2026 unless the company proves considerable traction in the robotaxi effort.

Adam Spatacco has positions in Tesla. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.