Tesla Stock Explodes to New All-Time High with Unsupervised Robotaxi Trials in Austin

• Tesla (TSLA) stock recovered strongly to an all-time closing high of $489.88, achieving over 21% year-to-date gains, with market capitalization reaching $1.63 trillion as the seventh-most valuable company.
• Advancements in autonomous driving, including driverless vehicle tests in Austin without occupants, fueled investor optimism for robotaxi deployment via software updates.
• Despite earlier sales declines of 13% in deliveries and up to 20% in automotive revenue, plus ongoing challenges from competition and brand backlash, analysts like Mizuho raised price targets to $530 citing Full Self-Driving improvements.

Tesla (TSLA) has staged an impressive rebound, closing at a record high of $489.88 following a 3.1% gain on Tuesday, with shares adding another 3.07% in after‑hours trading. This surge has positioned the shares more than 21% higher for the year, following a challenging 36% decline in the first quarter, which marked the worst period since 2022.

The recent momentum stems from advancements in autonomous driving technology, as CEO Elon Musk announced that Tesla is testing driverless vehicles in Austin, Texas, with no occupants on board. This development comes nearly six months after initiating a pilot program that included safety drivers. Investors interpret these tests as progress toward fulfilling the company’s commitment to transforming existing electric vehicles into robotaxis via software updates. Currently, Tesla’s Robotaxi-branded ride-hailing service operates in Texas and California, though vehicles still include human safety supervisors.

With the stock rally, Tesla’s market capitalization has reached $1.63 trillion, placing it as the seventh-most valuable publicly traded company. It trails Nvidia (NVDA), Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), and Meta (META), while edging out Broadcom (AVGO). Elon Musk’s personal net worth stands at approximately $684 billion, according to Forbes, positioning him more than $430 billion ahead of the second-richest individual, Google co-founder Larry Page.

Financial results earlier in the year reflected difficulties, including a 13% drop in first-quarter deliveries and a 20% decline in automotive revenue, followed by a 16% revenue decrease in the second quarter. The third quarter showed improvement, with a 12% revenue increase driven by U.S. buyers accelerating purchases to capture a federal tax credit expiring at the end of September, contributing to a 40% stock rise during that period.

Ongoing challenges include the expiration of the tax credit, persistent consumer backlash tied to Musk’s political activities and endorsements, and intense competition from manufacturers such as BYD and Xiaomi in China, as well as Volkswagen in Europe. Tesla introduced more affordable versions of the Model Y SUV and Model 3 sedan in October, but these have not yet boosted sales in the U.S. or Europe, where lower-priced options appear to be shifting demand from higher-end models. In November, U.S. sales fell to a four-year low, per Reuters.

Despite these hurdles in a tough U.S. electric vehicle market, analysts remain optimistic about autonomous technology. Mizuho increased its price target on Tesla to $530 from $475 while maintaining a ‘Buy’ rating, noting that enhancements in Full Self-Driving (Supervised) could enable faster robotaxi fleet growth in Austin and San Francisco, along with potential earlier removal of human chaperones. Safety concerns persist, as the automated systems under testing are not broadly available and face numerous unresolved issues.

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