Tesla stock just had its second-worst month ever. At least it snapped a losing streak on Friday.

Investors are looking for things that can turn the tide and looking for leadership from CEO Elon Musk.

Shares of the electric vehicle maker rose 3.9% on Friday, closing at $293.04, snapping a six-day losing streak. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.6% and 1.4%, respectively.

February was the second-worth month on record for the stock. Tesla shares fell almost 28% in February. Of the 20 trading days in the month, shares dropped on 14 of them. The worst month on record was December 2022, when they dropped about 37%.

Shares are up roughly $40 since the Nov. 5 election.

There is a connection between the 2022 and 2025 performance. December 2022 was just after Elon Musk closed his acquisition of social-media platform Twitter, which he renamed X. Then, investors were worried about Musk's time management and whether he could add another business to his quiver without the performance of his car company suffering. The upshot of that episode: Fears subsided and Tesla stock doubled in 2023.

Now, Musk is spending his time almost exclusively in Washington, D.C. Investors are, again, worried about time management. They are also concerned about whether the CEO's close association with President Donald Trump has turned off Tesla's traditional buyers, politically left-leaning consumers looking to go green.

Distraction risks are piling up, said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives. "Investors have patience but this is starting to tip the scale and it's weighing on shares along with brand issues related to Musk/Tesla," he added. "Perception becomes reality on Wall Street."

Investors are looking for anything that can turn the tide. And they'd like Musk to try to change the perception.

Self-driving cars will be key. Tesla plans to launch an autonomous robo-taxi service in 2025. Tesla has applied for a permit to operate self-driving cars in California, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

Exactly what Tesla has applied for isn't clear. The company already holds a permit to test self-driving cars with a safety driver present in California. The California Department of Motor Vehicles said there hasn't been any application made for a self-driving license.

Tesla didn't respond to a request for comment about its permitting activities.

Investors hope they see self-driving Tesla vehicles on roads sooner than later. And now would be the time to work through regulatory processes in California if Tesla wants to start the service this year.