- Tesla rejoined the club of technology companies valued over a trillion dollars after Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential elections.
- Share prices soared to over $320 per share as of the time of writing, but concerns of volatility loom amid pending NHTSA investigations into its Full-Self Driving software.
Tesla investors felt deja vu heading into the weekend as the automaker's market valuation soared past $1 trillion for the first time since October 2021.
The automaker's share price jumped nearly 30% since Tuesday as Donald Trump stormed back into office after winning the U.S. presidential elections. Tesla CEO Elon Musk turbocharged Trump's campaign effort with at least $130 million in donations, aiming to secure favorable federal regulations for autonomous vehicles to help bring his Robotaxi ambitions to life.
At the time of writing, Tesla's share price had increased to over $320 per share, rocketing Musk's net worth to over $300 billion. As the world's richest man keeps getting richer, he's hoping to secure a key role in the Trump administration, potentially spearheading a Department of Government Efficiency that could pave the path for federalized autonomous vehicle standards.
With that, Tesla now rejoins the elite club of "big tech" companies like Nvidia, Microsoft, Google, and Apple, which have seen their valuations soar due to increasing investments in artificial intelligence and the latest Trump victory.
In a Hollywood-style early October event labeled "We, Robot", Tesla showcased its Robotaxi—a two-seater with butterfly doors and wireless charging tech, minus the traditional steering wheels and pedals. The event was short on technical and operational details, which plummeted Tesla's share price at the time and lowered investor confidence.
Now, Tesla has recovered from that and is seeing record gains.
However, the road forward for Tesla's Robotaxi aspirations is bumpy. This week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the top auto safety regulator in the U.S., flagged Tesla for its social media posts about the Full-Self Driving software—the underlying technology powering its future Robotaxi and current EVs.
NHTSA made an email public on Friday, asking Tesla to "revisit its communications" regarding the messaging around FSD. Even though Tesla encourages driver supervision for FSD, the title has drawn criticism for being misleading. FSD is a Level 2 driver assistance system with a sketchy safety record. NHTSA has asked Tesla to respond to the letter by December 18.
Just days after the Robotaxi reveal, NHTSA opened another investigation into 2.4 million Teslas equipped with FSD after four reported collisions, including a fatal crash. Those include all Teslas manufactured from 2016 onwards, including the Cybertruck. So even though the Trump win paints a rosy picture for the automaker, there's a long way ahead before FSD truly earns public trust.
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