Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) is reportedly in early discussions with officials of the city of Austin, Texas, to roll out its autonomous vehicles for testing as early as 2025.
What Happened: Elon Musk-led Tesla's driverless vehicle ambitions could get a boost if its discussions with Austin City bear fruit.
According to a report by Bloomberg, a Tesla employee has been in touch with Austin city officials since as early as May to create a safety framework for deploying driverless fleets.
Reacting to the news, the Tesla stock surged over 3% in premarket trading to hover at $453.91, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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Why It Matters: Tesla's autonomous driving ambitions have been a key area of focus as analysts determine the impact of a driverless fleet on the EV giant's prospects.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives and long-time Tesla bull thinks the Tesla stock could hit the $2 trillion market capitalization mark by the end of 2025, in a bull-case scenario.
"We believe with the autonomous story at Tesla worth $1 trillion alone that in a bull case scenario by the end of 2025, Tesla could achieve a $2 trillion market cap threshold," Ives said. "FSD, autonomous, and the launch of Cybercab for early 2026 are keys for Tesla."
Tesla has also been spotted testing the Cybercab at the Giga Texas facility. A video shared on social media showcased the Cybercab navigating traffic autonomously within the premises.
Price Action: On a year-to-date basis, the stock is up 77.2%. Here's what other analysts are saying.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Image via Tesla
