It doesn't matter what Musk really meant with this salute. Robotaxis are exclusively a product for large urban areas, and that population largely didn't like it at all.

As Elon Musk descends further into the swamp of the far right and plays a prominent role in dismantling the US government, Australians, Europeans and Americans are turning their backs on Tesla. And as political distaste becomes a rising factor in car selling, that will only accelerate this year.

Tesla’s driver assistance software, known as full self-driving, or FSD, will see unsupervised tests in Texas, California and other states this year.

Shares of electronic-vehicle maker Tesla fell more than those of GM and Ford, despite less exposure to impacts from potential tariffs on Canada and Mexico.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has a history of making bold predictions. In the latest earnings call, he said Tesla could reach a market cap of $15 trillion or more. Autonomy is the key to getting there. Musk, who also runs SpaceX and a number of other companies,