Tesla Jumps as Trump Reportedly Plan to Ease Self-Driving Rules

42 minutes ago

Shares of Tesla (TSLA) moved higher in premarket trading Monday following a report that President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is planning a federal framework for fully self-driving vehicles, as investors bet on easier rules for the company’s robotaxi.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is part of Trump’s inner circle, benefits under such a framework as he has made the robotaxi, a vehicle that will be able to drive itself without human supervision, a key focus of the EV maker’s future.

According to Bloomberg, Trump’s transition team members have told advisers they plan to make a federal framework for fully self-driving vehicles one of the Transportation Department’s priorities. 

At the moment, companies looking to sell vehicles without steering wheels or foot pedals en masse, something Tesla is planning, face significant regulatory hurdles, the report said. Present U.S. rules also pose big obstacles for Tesla’s plans for a robotaxi, including a cap that limits their deployment, the report added.

Wedbush analysts reiterated their outperform call on the EV maker, saying a federal framework would be "bullish for Tesla" and a "huge step forward in easing US rules for self-driving cars."

Wedbush, which has a $400 price target on the EV maker, said last week that Tesla, which is less reliant on credits than smaller upstarts, could even benefit from less government support for EVs, Investors expect a Trump presidency to roll back EV credits given under the Biden administration.

Tesla shares, which have gained more than 30% since election day, were up 6% in recent premarket trading.

–Nisha Gopalan

Major Index Stock Futures Mixed

42 minutes ago

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.2%.

S&P 500 futures were up fractonally.

Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.2%.

Take the Next Step to Invest Advertiser Disclosure × The offers that appear in this table are from partnerships from which Investopedia receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where listings appear. Investopedia does not include all offers available in the marketplace.