- Wall Street banks, including UBS, Citi, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, sharply trimmed their stakes as per new Q4 filings.
- Morgan Stanley trimmed its position for the third consecutive quarter, leaving it at its smallest Tesla holding since 2023.
- Retail bulls stayed anchored to FSD and AI ambitions after Tesla said drivers have logged over 8 billion miles using FSD.
Tesla, Inc. shares slipped marginally in premarket trading on Thursday as fresh filings showed major Wall Street banks sharply cutting their stakes in the EV maker, even as retail investors stayed bullish on the back of the company’s self-driving push.
Big Banks Trim Tesla Exposure Into Year-End
Fourth-quarter (Q4) filings dated Dec. 31, 2025, show a broad pullback by large financial institutions, according to data by Quiver Quantitative.
UBS Asset Management cut its Tesla stake by about 59 million shares, a reduction of roughly 74%, ending the year with just over 20 million shares valued at about $9.1 billion. Nomura Holdings reduced its position by more than 80%, selling nearly 5 million shares and leaving it with about 1.2 million shares worth roughly $545 million.
Citigroup trimmed its holdings by around 3.1 million shares, or 32%, while Barclays reduced its position by nearly 17%. Goldman Sachs Group also cut its stake by more than 2.4 million shares, though it remained one of Tesla’s larger institutional holders with over 27 million shares on its books.
Morgan Stanley also reduced its exposure for a third consecutive quarter, ending the year with about 35.8 million shares, its smallest Tesla stake since 2023, though the position remains one of the bank’s largest equity holdings.
Retail Bulls Focus On FSD Momentum
At the same time, Tesla is leaning heavily into its Full Self-Driving (FSD) narrative. The company said on Wednesday that Tesla owners have driven more than 8 billion miles using FSD, and adoption reached nearly 1.1 million paid customers globally in Q4.
Tesla said that FSD improves safety, noting that vehicles equipped with the system travel millions of miles before a major collision, compared with the U.S. average. However, regulators are examining the technology after identifying incidents in which FSD-equipped vehicles allegedly violated traffic safety laws. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been reviewing potential defects tied to millions of Tesla vehicles.
Regulatory Pressure And Branding Shift
The regulatory spotlight intensified recently in California, where the Department of Motor Vehicles required Tesla to stop using the term “Autopilot” in its marketing. The company has since adopted the label “Full Self-Driving (Supervised)” to emphasize that drivers must remain attentive.
Meanwhile, Tesla continues expanding its robotaxi efforts. The company operates hundreds of Model Y vehicles as robotaxis in Austin and the Bay Area, though incidents involving its vehicles have been reported. While Tesla has logged billions of assisted miles, competitors such as Waymo have accumulated over 127 million fully autonomous miles.
The Bigger AI Bet
Even as some institutions reduce exposure, Tesla is pressing ahead with its broader AI pivot. The company has said 2025 marked a transition toward becoming a physical AI and robotics company. It plans to ramp production of its Cybercab robotaxi, Tesla Semi and Optimus humanoid robot in 2026, while also investing about $2 billion in Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI.
How Did Stocktwits Users React?
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for Tesla was ‘bullish’ amid a 19% drop in 24-hour message volume.
One user said, “Seems like robotaxi is slowly gaining some momentum. Some continuation bull div action going on showing up on the weekly as well.”
Another user said, “Holding for the AI & Robotics future. Long term vision is key.”
TSLA stock has declined 9% so far this year.
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