Tesla stock jumps on report Trump plans to ease regulations around self-driving cars

Tesla shares surged more than 8% on Monday morning before tapering off in the early afternoon following a report over the weekend that President-elect Trump’s transition team is looking to ease the regulations surrounding self-driving vehicles.

The report from Bloomberg Sunday said Trump’s team is planning to develop a regulatory framework for self-driving cars as part of a major priority for the Department of Transportation (DOT). 

Wedbush analysts led by Dan Ives wrote in a note following the report, “This would be a huge step forward in easing US rules for self driving cars and be a significant tailwind for Tesla’s autonomous and AI vision heading into 2025.”

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Tesla shares have soared more than 53% over the past month since Trump won the presidential election, securing a second term with the backing of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whom Trump has tapped to co-lead a new Department of Government Efficiency.

The analysts wrote “Musk’s significant influence in the Trump White House is already having a major influence and ultimately the golden path for Tesla around Cybercabs and autonomous is now within reach with an emboldened Trump/Musk strategic alliance playing out in real time and very in line with our thesis.”

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In a previous note, Webush analysts predicted Tesla’s valuation could double to $2 trillion over the next 18 months.

While the news that the second Trump administration is pursuing a framework for self-driving cars sent Tesla’s stock higher, shares of rideshare giants Uber and Lyft were lower on Monday, down around 6.5% and 5.5%, respectively.