Tesla’s Tumultuous March: Stock Plummets While Robotaxi Plans Spark Hope
March 2025 was far from smooth for Elon Musk, as Tesla experienced a significant financial downturn. According to CNBC, the electric vehicle giant’s stock plunged by a staggering 36% in the first quarter of the year. This marked Tesla’s worst quarterly performance since the end of 2022, and the third-largest drop in its 15 years of public trading. The last time the company saw such a steep decline was during Q4 of 2022, when its shares fell by 54%. That drop was largely attributed to Musk selling over $22 billion in Tesla stock to finance his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, now known as X.
When it came to vehicle sales, the numbers were equally disappointing. Tesla reported the delivery of 336,681 cars in the first quarter—about 50,000 fewer than in the same period the previous year. This made it Tesla’s weakest sales quarter in nearly three years. According to Yahoo Finance, the company’s market valuation has dropped by roughly $800 billion since December 2024, a loss of more than 50% in just a few months.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 19, 2025
Tesla has still managed to retain high-profile supporters. Former U.S. President Donald Trump famously showcased his support by purchasing a Tesla at the White House in what many viewed as a high-profile endorsement. More recently, Joe Rogan joined the wave of public enthusiasm for Tesla. During episode #2306 of The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan spoke at length about his experience with Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) features while chatting with comedian Deric Poston.
“My car just drives itself,” Rogan said. He described how the Tesla autonomously navigates streets, obeys traffic lights, and adjusts speed based on surrounding vehicles. Rogan emphasized that while the car can technically handle everything, he still keeps his hand close to the wheel, admitting that the experience feels surreal. He even had his producer, Young Jaime, play a video showcasing his Tesla’s FSD in action, highlighting the technology’s ability to identify and react to all vehicles around it, change lanes, and monitor traffic speeds.
The enthusiasm comes at a critical time, as Tesla prepares to roll out its first fleet of fully self-driving Robotaxis. Slated for launch in California this June, these Robotaxis will go beyond current FSD capabilities, aiming to operate without any human supervision. Tesla plans to use modified versions of its Model Y and Model 3 vehicles for the new service. These updated cars will feature advanced FSD technology that surpasses what is currently available to regular Tesla owners like Rogan.
However, Tesla isn’t the first to enter the fully autonomous taxi space. Waymo, a company under Google’s parent firm Alphabet, already has an operational fleet of driverless vehicles in California. This puts pressure on Tesla to not only match but exceed existing standards in the autonomous driving market.
With the company’s stock in decline and its market value taking a massive hit, Tesla is in need of positive momentum. The Robotaxi project could potentially be the catalyst the company needs to regain investor confidence. Although it’s unlikely to immediately recover the $800 billion in lost valuation, this bold move could mark the beginning of a financial rebound.
As Tesla pushes forward with its ambitious plans, public endorsements like Rogan’s continue to generate buzz. Whether the Robotaxi launch will be enough to turn things around remains to be seen.