Tesla Stock Will Get Help From Trump, Believe Investors. But How?

Dow Jones19:29

Tesla stock's recent performance tells investors two things.

For starters, self-driving robotaxis are becoming better drivers than humans. Second, President Trump will implement rules and regulations to accelerate the adoption of self-driving technology across the U.S.

There are reasons to believe cars are becoming excellent drivers. Alphabet's Waymo completes more than 150,000 driverless cab rides a week. Its safety data show an 80% reduction in accidents. Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently predicted his company's self-driving technology would be better than human drivers in the first half of 2025.

As for Trump, it isn't certain what policies will come.

The Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association published a framework for automated driving earlier in January. The association, of which Waymo is a member, suggests a set of self-driving tests allowing manufacturers to self-certify self-driving proficiency, among other things. There could also be a national database tracking autonomous vehicle incidents.

Overall, the framework would move the regulation of self-driving cars from the states to the federal government. Half of U.S. states have autonomous vehicle deployment statutes

"Waymo strongly supports AVIA's comprehensive proposal of modern, common-sense federal rules that would bring uniformity, efficiency, and additional safety to the deployment of autonomous vehicles," said the company in an emailed statement.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives believes Trump could establish a new agency to make the rules and regulations. Think the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration but for self-driving cars.

Investors can watch for those kinds of initiatives to see if policymaking is going Tesla's way.

Investors expect it to. Coming into Thursday trading, Tesla stock was up 65% since the election. The gains are arriving despite Trump promising to undo some of the EV support initiated by his predecessor. That has some areas of the EV ecosystem under pressure. Shares of EV charging companies EVgo, Blink Charging, and ChargePoint were down an average of about 42% since the election.

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Comments

a4xrbj1
20:11
a4xrbj1
Sorry, Tesla already got 70% increase on an unclear Trump support. What we know is that Trump will reduce the energy credits and the focus on Green Cars. Guess what that means for Tesla who is making a lot of its profit from selling carbon credits (21 Billion so far)? Exactly, their profit will take a bit hit (as they are 100% margin), their sales will go down even further as their cars are going to be $7,500 more expensive. Not even talking about all those lofty future expectations like FSD (still years away from being fully autonomous If ever with their vision-only approach), whilst Waymo is ramping up from already 150,000 paid trips per week, Baidu is ramping up in China (where FSD isn't even available still).