Tesla's Driverless Vehicle Authorization Lags Behind Competitors in Texas
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 16 hours ago
0mins
Source: Yahoo Finance
- Texas Driverless Vehicle Data: Regulatory data from Texas reveals that Tesla has only 42 authorized driverless vehicles compared to Waymo's 577, Avride's 317, and Zoox's 35, indicating a significant competitive disadvantage for Tesla in the autonomous vehicle market.
- FSD Technology Challenges: Former Tesla data labelers and engineers reported ongoing struggles with Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology, particularly in handling emergency vehicles, school buses, and pedestrians, with 17 known incidents involving the Austin robotaxi fleet between July 2025 and April 2026, including two minor injuries.
- Safety Claims Scrutinized: Tesla's assertion that FSD is safer than human drivers has been questioned by traffic safety researchers, who argue that its comparison methods may overstate the technology's safety performance, particularly when contrasting newer vehicles with older models.
- Shifting Market Sentiment: Retail sentiment towards Tesla has shifted from neutral to bearish, with a 32% decline in discussion volume on social media, reflecting growing investor concerns about the company's future performance, especially regarding the safety and reliability of its autonomous driving technology.
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Analyst Views on TSLA
Wall Street analysts forecast TSLA stock price to fall
30 Analyst Rating
12 Buy
11 Hold
7 Sell
Hold
Current: 442.100
Low
25.28
Averages
401.93
High
600.00
Current: 442.100
Low
25.28
Averages
401.93
High
600.00
About TSLA
Tesla, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, sells and leases high-performance fully electric vehicles and energy generation and storage systems, and offers services related to its products. Its segments include automotive, and energy generation and storage. The automotive segment includes the design, development, manufacturing, sales and leasing of high-performance fully electric vehicles, and sales of automotive regulatory credits. It also includes sales of used vehicles, non-warranty maintenance services and collisions, part sales, paid supercharging, insurance services revenue and retail merchandise sales. The energy generation and storage segment include the design, manufacture, installation, sales and leasing of solar energy generation and energy storage products and related services and sales of solar energy systems incentives. Its consumer vehicles include the Model 3, Y, S, X and Cybertruck. Its lithium-ion battery energy storage products include Powerwall and Megapack.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Competitor Analysis: Tesla (TSLA) not only lags behind Waymo but also falls short of Nebius (NBIS)-owned Avride's 317 and Nuro's 47 authorized robotaxis, indicating a further compression of its market share.
- Regulatory Environment Changes: With the new law in Texas tightening oversight on commercial self-driving vehicles, Tesla's (TSLA) robotaxi service, available in limited areas of Austin, Dallas, and Houston, faces increased compliance pressures that could impact future expansion plans.
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- New Revenue Streams: Meta has announced the rollout of consumer subscription plans that allow users to access special features, while also testing AI subscription services for businesses, which will provide a robust new revenue stream and cater to diverse user needs for future growth.
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- Type Approval Recognition: This approval is based on a type approval initially granted in the Netherlands, demonstrating Tesla's compliance and adaptability across various European nations, thereby enhancing its market position in the autonomous driving sector.
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