Top Tesla critic reveals Elon Musk’s biggest mistake of 2026

With the rollout of Tesla’s (NASDAQ: TSLA) ‘FSD’ – autonomous driving system – Gordon Johnson of GJL Research, one of the analysts most pessimistic regarding the electric vehicle (EV) company, made an X revealing what he believes to be Elon Musk’s biggest mistake.

Indeed, according to the Wall Street expert, the official rollout of the platform itself was the South African-Canadian-American billionaire’s major error. 

While such an estimate might appear counterintuitive given the importance of ‘FSD’ to Tesla stock price, it is worth noting that GJL Research has, for years, maintained that the technology does not work due to its total reliance on cameras. As Johnson put it:

As GLJ Research has been warning the world for yrs (backed by insights from people/experts who know autonomy far better than GLJ/Wall Street analysts), vision-only “FSD” simply does not work.

Is the ‘FSD’ rollout really a major mistake for Tesla?

Thus, the analyst believes that, by giving the public wide access to ‘FSD,’ Elon Musk has made it evident that the technology does not function as intended, removing a traditional TSLA equity catalyst of anticipating cutting-edge breakthroughs leading to revenue and profit upsurge at some point in the future.

Looking at the discourse surrounding Tesla’s autonomous driving in March, Gordon Johnson’s analysis appears to have at least some merit. Recent weeks saw numerous reports raising concerns about the actual safety and utility of the system, with one regulator even declaring ‘FSD’ – ‘full self-driving’ – is a misleading name.

Some prominent Tesla bulls, such as Teslarati – a popular outlet focused on the EV maker – recently added to the concerns. Indeed, Teslarati voiced their disappointment in the current version of ‘FSD’ in a March 30 X post, calling it ‘the worst FSD release since v14.’

The tweet also specified a number of critical complaints:

Constantly in the wrong lane, a lot of weird maneuvers, so many additional nav errors, routing, speed control, parking, and that’s just to name a few.

Elsewhere, it is worth noting that negativity is far from universal, and multiple people claiming to have tested the technology themselves are rather positive regarding ‘FSD.’ 

Why ‘FSD’ remains a key Tesla stock price catalyst

Still, it is difficult to deny that Tesla has been struggling in the stock market in recent months. Though TSLA shares remain 38.04% in the green in the last 52 weeks, at $357.75, they are approximately 27% below the high recorded in late 2025.

Similarly, Tesla equity fell 20.44% since the start of 2026 and is 11.29% in the red in the last month of trading, highlighting the importance of a successful ‘FSD’ rollout for shareholders.

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