Tesla (TSLA) Stocks Up On Report Trump Wants To Ease Self-Driving Rules

Tesla shares rose on Monday after a report that President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team plans to make a federal framework for regulating self-driving vehicles a top priority for the U.S. Department of Transportation.

From At 8 a.m. ET, Tesla shares were up nearly 7% in U.S. premarket trading following the release of the Bloomberg News report, which cited unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

CNBC could not independently verify the report and has requested comment from the Trump team and from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a transportation department tasked with overseeing self-driving technologies.

Musk was a central figure in the business world pushing for Trump’s return to the White House in the run-up to this month’s election. The tech billionaire can now benefit from the close relationship he has formed with the Republican politician, who previously served a first presidential term between 2017 and 2021.

Last week, Trump tapped Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the newly minted Department of Government Efficiency — or “DOGE” for short — which he said would end government “red tape,” loosen “excessive” regulations and cut ” wasteful” expenses.

A federal framework for regulating self-driving vehicles would be a big boon for Musk’s Tesla, which has promised fully self-driving vehicles for years but has so far failed to deliver a car that can be driven autonomously without a human behind the wheel.

The long-term vision for Tesla is to produce a fleet of so-called “robotaxes,” autonomous vehicles that can drive people around without the need for human supervision.

Last month, Musk showed off Tesla’s long-awaited robot taxi — a concept car called the “Cybercab,” a $30,000 two-seat vehicle with no steering wheel or pedals.

Tesla has already been beaten in the robotaxi race by Google’s Waymo venture, which is among the few companies that have successfully launched self-driving cars on public roads.

Speaking at an event unveiling Tesla’s Cybercab and “Robovan” vehicles, Musk said he expects Tesla to have “unsupervised” Full Self-Driving technology up and running in Texas and California next year in the company’s Model 3 and Model Y electric cars.

Full Self-Driving, or FSD, is Tesla’s premium driver assistance system, currently available in a “supervised” version for Tesla electric cars. FSD currently requires a human driver at the wheel, ready to steer or brake at any time.

Trump’s transition team is reportedly looking for policy leaders for the Department of Transportation to develop a federal regulatory framework for self-driving vehicles, according to Bloomberg.

They include Emil Michael, a former Uber executive, Republican representatives Sam Graves of Missouri and Garret Graves of Louisiana, Bloomberg reported.