Tesla stock price shot up on Monday, up by 10.05% at the time of writing to trade at $356, hitting three-week highs. The propulsion was supplied by the EV company’s successful launch of robotaxi trials in Austin, Texas on Sunday. Investors are increasingly convinced that autonomous driving is the next big growth frontier for Tesla, which could potentially see greater integration of AI technology into its income stream.
The company’s EV sales have been on a decline in Europe and China, and it is counting on autonomous driving to not only reverse the trend, but propel its growth to a multi-trillion dollar valuation. Tesla’s robotaxi rides in cost a flat fee of $4.20 and the inaugural launch was held by both the company and attendees as a success, with no incidents reported in all the test rides.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has geofenced the test rides for now, but will need a much larger rollout to prove this business model’s viability. In addition, it will have to prove a high traffic safety record not only to get regulatory approval for a mass rollout, but also to win public confidence.
Furthermore, it faces competition from early entrants, most notably, Alphabet’s Waymo which already has a traction of an average of more than 250k paid rides per week. Other companies in this space include Nuro and Cruise. Also, the robotaxi’s use of AI and camera for navigation will be put to test against rivals’ driverless EVs navigated by LIDAR and RADAR. Nonetheless, the excitement surrounding the robotaxi launch will likely keep Tesla stock price on the ascent in the near-term.
Tesla Stock Price Prediction
Tesla stock price pivot mark is at $350 and action above that level will favour the buyers to stay in control. The stock will likely meet initial resistance at $357. However, an extend control by the buyers could push the action higher and test $363.
Conversely, the sellers could take control if the price breaks below $350. That could see primary support established at $343. The upside narrative will be invalid if the price breaks below that level. Furthermore, the resulting momentum could take the action lower to test $335.
