Tesla got the rocket treatment on Monday. The stock jumped 5.21% to $391.62 after Barclays upgraded it to Overweight and said a merger with SpaceX is now “a key part of the Tesla bull case.” That was the best move on our board by a wide margin, on a day when only 4 of our 23 US names closed higher. SpaceX itself slipped 0.40% to $146.90. Chips bounced in New York, with Nvidia up 2.39% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.83% to 26,169.38. Tokyo went the other way. The Nikkei 225 fell 0.80% to a three-month low as Advantest and Tokyo Electron dragged it down.
The top take
- Tesla (TSLA) $391.62, +5.21%. Barclays analyst Dan Levy moved Tesla to Overweight from Equal Weight and lifted his price target to $450 from $370, CNBC reported. “With a combination heavily expected, and with expectation for some premium to TSLA stock, we believe this should drive upside for the stock,” he wrote. Musk said on SpaceX’s earnings call last week that both companies have formed committees to look at a combination, though no deal has been announced. Barclays sees an all-stock purchase of Tesla by SpaceX as the most likely route. At $450 a share, a 20% premium, that works out to about 3.1 SpaceX shares per Tesla share, per Yahoo Finance. The note isn’t only about M&A, either. Levy points to auto sales growing again this year, Megapacks nearly sold out for 2027, and a sharp jump in Robotaxi miles (Investing.com). His bear case, with no deal, is $250. We broke the note down in our Barclays story.
- The Houston joke landed on the same day. Tesla switched on a much bigger Robotaxi service area in Houston, and the new map looks a lot like Starship. “Houston, we have liftoff,” the Robotaxi account posted (Drive Tesla Canada, Teslarati). Musk replied that it was “just a coincidence 😂.” We have the full map in our Houston Robotaxi story. Yahoo Finance called it Tesla’s best day since early September and its highest close in about three months. TSLA is up 6.40% over five sessions, though still down 12.92% this year. After hours it was $392.49, up 0.22%, in Nasdaq’s 6:43 p.m. ET quote (7:43 a.m. JST Tuesday).
- SpaceX (SPCX) $146.90, −0.40%. A quiet day for the would-be buyer. That’s normal in this kind of setup, since any takeover premium goes to the company being bought. SPCX sits 8.81% above its $135 IPO price and was $147.72 after hours (+0.56%).
- Solar had a rough Monday. SolarEdge fell 5.04%, Sunrun 4.09%, Enphase 3.92% and First Solar 2.23%. Enphase reports third-quarter results after the bell on Tuesday (Enphase via Nasdaq), so nobody in the group wanted to stick their neck out. Serve Robotics tied SolarEdge for the worst day on our board at −5.04% and is down 14.29% over five sessions.
- Elsewhere. Nvidia rose 2.39% to $216.00 as the Philadelphia Semiconductor index gained 2.82%. Mobileye added 1.83% and GM 0.51%, and those four were the only US gainers on our list. Rivian lost 3.38% and Lucid 3.41%, though Lucid is still up 9.85% over five sessions. ChargePoint slipped 1.32% but has the best five-day run on the board (+15.24%) and the best YTD number (+24.10%). The S&P 500 rose 0.70% to 7,676.77 and the Dow added 146.42 points (0.28%) to 52,361.58.
The board: US-listed stocks
Closing prices for Monday, October 26, 2026. Day % is the change from Friday’s close, 5-day % compares with the October 19 close, and YTD % compares with the December 31, 2025 close.
| Ticker | Company | Close | Day % | 5-day % | YTD % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Musk-verse | |||||
| TSLA | Tesla | $391.62 | +5.21% | +6.40% | −12.92% |
| SPCX | SpaceX | $146.90 | −0.40% | −0.72% | +8.81%* |
| US EV makers | |||||
| RIVN | Rivian | $11.43 | −3.38% | −7.37% | −42.01% |
| LCID | Lucid Group | $3.40 | −3.41% | +9.85% | −67.83% |
| GM | General Motors | $76.31 | +0.51% | −7.78% | −6.16% |
| F | Ford | $11.58 | −0.17% | −4.93% | −11.74% |
| China EV | |||||
| 1211 HK | BYD (Hong Kong, HK$) | HK$70.80† | −1.12% | −4.00% | −25.75% |
| NIO | NIO | $3.26 | −0.91% | −3.83% | −36.08% |
| XPEV | XPeng | $9.12 | −0.98% | −0.98% | −55.03% |
| LI | Li Auto | $11.35 | −0.35% | +0.53% | −32.96% |
| Autonomy & AI chips | |||||
| NVDA | Nvidia | $216.00 | +2.39% | −0.50% | +15.82% |
| GOOGL | Alphabet (Waymo) | $316.80 | −1.06% | −7.96% | +1.21% |
| MBLY | Mobileye | $6.66 | +1.83% | −7.37% | −36.21% |
| UBER | Uber | $66.13 | −0.85% | −5.47% | −19.07% |
| Robotics | |||||
| SYM | Symbotic | $37.90 | −3.51% | −2.85% | −36.30% |
| SERV | Serve Robotics | $2.64 | −5.04% | −14.29% | −74.57% |
| Solar & storage | |||||
| FSLR | First Solar | $168.15 | −2.23% | −2.12% | −35.63% |
| ENPH | Enphase Energy | $30.36 | −3.92% | −0.88% | −5.27% |
| RUN | Sunrun | $7.27 | −4.09% | +5.52% | −60.49% |
| SEDG | SolarEdge | $31.64 | −5.04% | +1.87% | +9.67% |
| Batteries & materials | |||||
| ALB | Albemarle | $93.42 | −0.27% | −1.29% | −33.95% |
| QS | QuantumScape | $3.90 | −3.23% | +0.13% | −62.57% |
| Charging | |||||
| CHPT | ChargePoint | $8.24 | −1.32% | +15.24% | +24.10% |
* SpaceX listed on June 12, 2026, so its YTD figure is measured from the $135 IPO price. † BYD is shown in Hong Kong dollars (1211 HK) because its US ADR trades thinly over the counter; HK$70.80 is about $9 at HK$7.85 per dollar. BYD’s 5-day % compares with the October 16 close because Hong Kong was closed on Monday, Oct 19. Albemarle’s close is $93.42 and GM’s $76.31 on Yahoo Finance and CNBC; Nasdaq.com’s last-sale figures are $93.45 and $76.32.
Tokyo corner
Tokyo didn’t get the memo about the chip bounce, because it traded before New York woke up. The Nikkei 225 fell for a third straight day, down 503.51 points, or 0.80%, to 62,189.65, its lowest level since July 30 (Nikkei). Selling hit the pricey AI and chip names hardest. Advantest fell 3.93% to ¥31,070 (about $198) and Tokyo Electron 3.68% to ¥9,110 (about $58), and those two alone knocked about 449 points off the index, per Fisco. Renesas lost 3.57% to ¥2,783.5 (about $18). The broader TOPIX actually rose 0.18% to 3,972.98, helped by trading houses and real estate.
The week-long hangover is still showing. SoftBank Group is down 12.01% over five sessions and Tokyo Electron 11.98%. Panasonic, Tesla’s battery partner, slipped 1.38% to ¥3,581 (about $23) and is down 9.96% for the stretch, but it still has the best YTD number on our Tokyo list at +76.97%.
The bright spot was robotics. Harmonic Drive Systems, which makes the precision gears inside a lot of robot joints, rose 3.98% to ¥5,090 (about $32), the best gain on our Tokyo board, as it climbs back from last Thursday’s 9.55% drop. Fanuc added 0.93% and Sumitomo Metal Mining 0.95%. The carmakers were mostly calm, with Suzuki up 0.80% and Toyota up 0.39% to ¥3,117 (about $20). Eleven of our 23 Tokyo names closed higher.
| Code | Company | Close ¥ | Day % | 5-day % | YTD % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Automakers | |||||
| 7203 | Toyota | 3,117 | +0.39% | +0.48% | −7.12% |
| 7267 | Honda | 1,798.5 | +0.19% | −0.50% | +17.09% |
| 7201 | Nissan | 267.3 | −0.52% | −4.47% | −31.48% |
| 7261 | Mazda | 1,092 | +0.65% | −1.71% | −10.42% |
| 7270 | Subaru | 2,652.5 | −0.47% | +0.17% | −21.87% |
| 7269 | Suzuki | 2,088 | +0.80% | −0.05% | −10.56% |
| 7211 | Mitsubishi Motors | 347.8 | +0.55% | −1.53% | −6.25% |
| Batteries & materials | |||||
| 6752 | Panasonic | 3,581 | −1.38% | −9.96% | +76.97% |
| 6674 | GS Yuasa | 4,640 | −0.56% | −7.01% | +23.73% |
| 5713 | Sumitomo Metal Mining | 8,077 | +0.95% | −7.79% | +27.06% |
| EV parts | |||||
| 6902 | Denso | 1,854.5 | +0.30% | −0.80% | −14.06% |
| 6594 | Nidec | 1,708 | +0.18% | −4.53% | −19.89% |
| 7259 | Aisin | 2,113.5 | −1.45% | −3.05% | −27.77% |
| Robotics & automation | |||||
| 6954 | Fanuc | 5,639 | +0.93% | −5.16% | −7.31% |
| 6506 | Yaskawa Electric | 3,980 | −1.04% | −8.99% | −16.32% |
| 6861 | Keyence | 77,270 | −1.42% | −5.09% | +36.33% |
| 6324 | Harmonic Drive Systems | 5,090 | +3.98% | −3.96% | +34.66% |
| 6268 | Nabtesco | 4,140 | +0.53% | −7.13% | +10.46% |
| Chips, AI & tech | |||||
| 8035 | Tokyo Electron | 9,110 | −3.68% | −11.98% | +32.72% |
| 6857 | Advantest | 31,070 | −3.93% | −9.81% | +58.24% |
| 6723 | Renesas Electronics | 2,783.5 | −3.57% | −7.74% | +30.07% |
| 6758 | Sony Group | 4,135 | −0.05% | +4.42% | +2.76% |
| 9984 | SoftBank Group | 4,263 | −0.30% | −12.01% | −3.11% |
Tokyo closing prices for Monday, October 26, 2026 (3:30 p.m. JST). 5-day % compares with the October 19 close, and YTD % compares with the December 30, 2025 close, the last trading day of 2025 in Tokyo. Dollar conversions in the text use ¥157 per dollar.
What to watch
- Tue, Oct 27: Enphase reports Q3 after the US close, with the call at 4:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. PT (5:30 a.m. JST Wednesday, Oct 28), per Enphase. After Monday’s solar slide, it’s the first real read on the group.
- Thu, Oct 29: BYD and Mobileye report Q3. BYD reports in Hong Kong and Mobileye in the US, as we flagged in Friday’s wrap.
- Fri, Oct 30: Tokyo Electron reports (Nikkei), and it’s Tesla’s deadline to answer NHTSA’s Cybercab review (Not a Tesla App). US clocks fall back on Sunday, Nov 1, so the US open moves to 11:30 p.m. JST from Nov 2.
The EVX News take
Barclays has come around to an idea plenty of Tesla fans have floated for a long time, that Musk’s companies are worth more together. The upgrade comes with real numbers behind it, from Megapack demand to Robotaxi miles, so this isn’t just merger gossip with a price target attached. The next test is the chart. Yahoo Finance flagged the $386 area as the level Tesla needs to hold, and Monday’s close sits $5.62 above it.
Prices: Yahoo Finance, cross-checked against CNBC quotes for every US-listed ticker, against Nasdaq.com for the official closes of TSLA, SPCX, NVDA, UBER, RIVN, GOOGL, FSLR and ENPH, and against stockanalysis.com for Tokyo and Hong Kong, as of market close on Monday, October 26, 2026 (US close 4:00 p.m. ET, which is 5:00 a.m. JST on Tuesday, Oct 27; Tokyo and Hong Kong closes on Oct 26). Tokyo closes were also spot-checked against Kabutan. After-hours quotes: Nasdaq.com. Index levels: Yahoo Finance, CNBC, Nikkei and Kabutan.
Not financial advice. Stock Watch is news and entertainment, not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Do your own research, and talk to a licensed financial adviser before you invest.
Sources: CNBC, Yahoo Finance (Barclays note), Yahoo Finance (chart), Investing.com, Drive Tesla Canada, Teslarati, Not a Tesla App, Enphase via Nasdaq, Nikkei, Fisco via Zaikei, Kabutan. Featured image: a Tesla Model Y (2025 “Juniper” refresh) in Stealth Grey. Photo: Damian B Oh, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), cropped.
