Tesla Stock (TSLA) Turbocharged as U.S. Makes Self Driving Rule Changes to Race Past China
Shares in troubled EV maker Tesla (TSLA) revved up higher today after it received a rare bit of good news on the future of self-driving cars in the U.S.
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Easier to Deploy
It seems President Donald Trump has listened to his buddy, Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, and made changes to federal rules on autonomous vehicles to make it easier to deploy the vehicles and even loosen requirements around accidents.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it will continue its requirement that vehicles equipped with certain advanced driver assistance systems or self-driving systems report safety incidents but it said will streamline reporting requirements.
The NHTSA will also expand its Automated Vehicle Exemption Program (AVEP) to include domestically produced vehicles.
The program previously allowed only certain foreign vehicles to be deployed on U.S. roads without fully complying with NHTSA's Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for research or demonstration purposes. However, vehicles built in America can also now submit requests for similar exceptions.
Challenge China
U.S. transportation secretary Sean Duffy said the new framework will slash red tape to spur innovation and challenge China. 'We are in a race with them to out-innovate and the stakes couldn't be higher,' he said.
Musk had called for these changes in part to help the rollout of his fleet of Cybercabs in Texas this June. According to the Financial Times, to win approval Tesla needs an exemption from the agency to operate a non-standard car on American roads.
Tesla stock has swerved off track in 2025 battered by rising Chinese competition, concerns over tariffs and the reputational hit to the company given Musk's close relationship with the colourful Trump administration.
Following a woeful set of first quarter results when profits slumped by 71%, Musk has promised to refocus on his day job and spend less time working for Trump as head of the controversial Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE.
An easing in self-driving rules could be a good way to kickstart those Tesla batteries.
Is TSLA a Good Stock to Buy Now?
On TipRanks, TSLA has a Hold consensus based on 17 Buy, 11 Hold and 12 Sell ratings. Its highest price target is $465. TSLA stock's consensus price target is $284.74 implying an 9.72% upside.
See more TSLA analyst ratings
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Toronto Sun
16 minutes ago
- Toronto Sun
Tesla shares jump most in two months on Robotaxi service launch
Elon Musk sees the long-promised driverless taxi service as a transformative new business line Published Jun 23, 2025 • 3 minute read A Tesla robotaxi vehicle in Austin on June 22. Photo by Tim Goessman / Photographer: Tim Goessman/Bloom Tesla Inc. shares surged after the automaker rolled out its long-promised driverless taxi service to a handful of riders, a modest debut for what Elon Musk sees as a transformative new business line. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The first robotaxi trips were limited to a narrow portion of Tesla's hometown of Austin on Sunday, with an employee sitting in the front passenger seat of each vehicle to monitor for safety. The carmaker hand-picked a friendly group of retail investors and social-media influencers to serve as initial riders and live-stream their trips. In one video, Herbert Ong, who runs a fan account, marveled over the speed of the vehicle and its ability to park autonomously. Another influencer with the X handle @BLKMDL3 deemed his trip smoother than with a human driver. Sawyer Merritt, a Tesla investor who runs an account focused on the company, called the experience 'awesome.' With no kickoff event and little in the way of formal announcements, Tesla relied largely on word of mouth and media coverage ahead of the robotaxi launch. The unveiling was uncharacteristically low-key for a company that held a 'Cyber Rodeo' to mark its Texas factory opening in 2022 and an invite-only party last year near Hollywood to unveil autonomous vehicle prototypes. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. While Musk has cautioned that autonomy is unlikely to 'move the financial needle' at Tesla for at least another year, progress toward getting the service started has boosted the company's shares. The stock jumped 11% as of 11:19 a.m. Monday in New York, the biggest intraday gain since April 9. The debut was 'largely uneventful' and free of major missteps, with the start of revenue service marking a 'critical milestone' for bulls in the stock, Barclays analyst Dan Levy said in a note. Musk has been reorienting the carmaker around still-unproven technologies including self-driving vehicles and humanoid robots. Some investors are counting on new business segments to revive Tesla from a vehicle sales slump and consumer backlash against its chief executive officer. The company's shares are still down 20% this year. 'While Tesla appears to be well positioned, we believe the opportunity is already priced into the stock,' Joseph Spak, a UBS Group AG analyst with a sell rating on the shares, wrote in a report Monday. He raised his price target to $215, well short of its close at $322.16 last week. Videos of the robotaxi launch posted Sunday were largely mundane, showing Model Y SUVs driving short distances, navigating intersections, avoiding pedestrians and parking — all with no one sitting in the driver's seat. There were some hiccups, like when one streamer tested a button to have the vehicle pull over and it instead briefly stopped in the middle of a road before the vehicle began moving again. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The first riders were charged a flat rate of $4.20 per trip, Musk said Sunday. Robotaxis will be available between 6 a.m. and midnight daily within a geofenced area of the city, not including the airport, according to terms some early riders posted. Service may be limited or unavailable in inclement weather. Tesla is deploying only 10 to 20 vehicles initially, aiming to show its cars can safely navigate real-world traffic, which has tripped up some other companies and brought regulatory scrutiny. Cruise, the now-defunct autonomy business of General Motors Co., grounded its fleet in late 2023 and had its operating license suspended in California following an accident that injured a pedestrian. Uber Technologies Inc. ceased testing self-driving vehicles after one of its SUVs struck and killed a pedestrian in Arizona in 2018. Less than three years later, the company agreed to sell its self-driving business. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Tesla hasn't said when the robotaxi service will open to the general public, though Musk has pledged to scale up quickly and expand to other US cities in the near future. The carmaker will have some company in Austin. Waymo, the driverless-car unit of Google parent Alphabet Inc., is scaling up in the city through a partnership with Uber. Inc.'s Zoox is also testing there. Dan Ives, an analyst with Wedbush Securities with the equivalent of a buy rating on Tesla shares, said he expects robotaxis to be competitive with Waymo from the start. After a member of his team rode in one Sunday, the analyst told Bloomberg the robotaxi user experience was 'better than expected.'
Toronto Sun
17 minutes ago
- Toronto Sun
Canada must show strength in standing up to Iran threat, Israeli politican says
Israel's deputy foreign minister says U.S. strike on Iran's nuke program was point of moral clarity, and called on Canada to show leadership Sharren Haskel at Toronto's Queen's Park on June 4, 2024. Photo by Peter J. Thompson / Postmedia OTTAWA — The world needs more Churchills and fewer Chamberlains. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account In an interview with the Toronto Sun , Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel said American strikes against Iran's nuclear program — augmenting work already carried out by Israel — represent U.S. President Donald Trump following through on what previous presidents and other world leaders have only talked about: Facing down the danger of a nuclear-armed Iran. 'The president is acting on what every president has said, and what every leader of the free world has said, to make sure (Iran) cannot acquire (nuclear missiles,)' Haskell said. She pointed to comments made by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz during the G7 in Alberta praising Israel for doing the world's 'dirty work,' and also comments by Prime Minister Mark Carney, who on Sunday described Iran's nuclear program as a 'grave threat' to international security. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'What happened (Saturday) was a moment for Trump of clear moral clarity, the world need more leaders like Churchill and much fewer Chamberlains,' Haskell said on Sunday. 'It's a historic time, leaders need to make harsh decisions and choose what side of history they're going to be.' Haskell pointed to Canada being a popular haven for fleeing Iranian officials, and called on the government to take action. 'We talk about protection of humanity. Who's protecting Canadians?' the Toronto-born Knesset member said. '(Canada) talks about diplomacy and preventing weapons of mass destruction from one of the most murderous and cruel regimes, one the biggest destabilizers of the world, the biggest funder of terrorism — what tools are you going to use? Diplomacy? You've tried that. They fooled you. They deceived you. Yet you continue.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Read More With Canada holding the presidency of the G7, Haskell said Canada has an opportunity to choose strength and leadership, but needs to put action behind words. Iran hosts the largest ballistic missile program in the Middle East — featuring an arsenal of short-range missiles including the Fateh and Zolfaghar devices capable of striking targets up to 700 km, and longer-range Ghadr, Sejjil and Khorramshahr units, capable of striking targets thousands of kilometres away. While Iran has so far been mounting conventional warheads atop their ballistic missiles, Israel has said its actions are to prevent Iran from developing nuclear warheads small and light enough to be carried aloft. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. '(Iran) are extremely advanced on their nuclear military program, and that's why we've had to eliminate — not just the enrichment facility, the nuclear reactor, the conversion facility, the leadership that was leading this program with all the knowledge that they've acquired on how to form a nuclear weapon is part of it,' Haskell said. 'But the other side is that you need to put it on a ballistic missile — and that program was so advanced and was accelerated in recent months.' A nuclear-armed Iran, she said, represents an existential danger not only to Israel, but the entire world. 'Can you imagine this murderous, vile regime — with everything it's doing to its own population — what it can do to the entire world with 10,000s of them?' Haskell said. 'We are eliminating also the ballistic missile program, with its factories and warehouses and storage so that they cannot pose another threat on humanity.' bpassifiume@ X: @bryanpassifiume
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Trump wants oil producers to pump more crude amid jitters that Iran may close critical shipping lane
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday called for the U.S. and other oil-producing economies to pump more oil as crude prices remain volatile following U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Trump urged stepped-up production as the White House sharpened its warnings to Iran against closing the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil and gas shipping lane, in retaliation for the U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear program. 'To the Department of Energy: DRILL, BABY, DRILL!!! And I mean NOW!!!' Trump posted on social media. He added, 'EVERYONE, KEEP OIL PRICES DOWN. I'M WATCHING! YOU'RE PLAYING RIGHT INTO THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY. DON'T DO IT!' The push by Trump comes at an uncertain moment as U.S. embassies and military installations in the Middle East are on high alert for potential retaliation. Global markets are trying to ascertain what lays ahead after the U.S. struck key Iranian nuclear facilities with a barrage of 30,000-pound bunker busting bombs and Tomahawk missiles. Iran's parliament has approved cutting off the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping lane in the Persian Gulf that about 20% of global oil and gas passes through. It's now up to Iran's national security council to decide whether to move forward with the idea, which could lead to a spike in the cost of goods and services worldwide. The price of oil jumped 4% shortly after trading began on Sunday night, but it quickly pared back as the focus shifted from what the U.S. military did to how Iran would react. Oil futures were flip-flopping in Monday morning trading between gains and losses. They still remain higher than they were before the fighting began a little more than a week ago. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt warned Tehran anew against closing the strait, saying, 'the Iranian regime would be foolish to make that decision.' The State Department has doubled the number of emergency evacuation flights it is providing for American citizens wishing to leave Israel, ordered the departure of nonessential staff from the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon. It also is stepping up travel warnings around the Middle East because of concerns Iran will retaliate against U.S. interests in the region. In an alert sent to all Americans worldwide and posted to its website on Sunday, the State Department warned all U.S. citizens abroad to exercise caution. The U.S. Embassy in Qatar issued an alert on its website Monday urging American citizens in the energy-rich nation to 'shelter in place until further notice,' although Qatar later said the situation was 'stable.' The embassy did not elaborate and did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Associated Press. Many energy industry analysts are skeptical that Iran would go forward with a full closure of the strait, something that it has threatened to do in the past. Iran would face the possibility of retaliation against its own shipments and the possibility that the move would upset China, the biggest purchaser of Iranian crude. The U.S. and allies pressed Russia in the leadup to Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine with threats to its oil industry, and then followed through as many Western oil companies pulled out of the country and the U.S. and Europe imposed sanctions on Russian industry. But Iran is far less integrated into the global economy than Russia, which was reliant on European markets for its oil and gas exports and still went forward with the invasion despite U.S. warnings. 'There's been a lot of suggestion as well that this isn't something that is incredibly likely, and that's generally attributed to economic interdependence, which I don't want to suggest doesn't matter. It absolutely does,' said Colby Connelly, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute. Connelly added, 'if the 2020s have taught us anything so far, it's that economic ties don't always prevent conflict.' In another development Monday, Leavitt appeared to play down Trump calling into question the future of Iran's ruling theocracy, seemingly contradicting his administration's earlier calls on Tehran to resume negotiations and avoid an escalation in fighting. 'It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change???' Trump posted on social media. 'MIGA!!!' Leavitt said Trump's 'posture and our military posture has not changed.' 'The president was just simply raising a question that I think many people around the world are asking,' Leavitt said. ___ AP writers Stan Choe in New York, Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Chris Megerian contributed reporting.
