Tesla shares soar on report of Trump's self-driving policy push

Tesla's stock surged nearly 5% on Monday following a report from Bloomberg News that President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team plans to prioritise a federal framework for regulating self-driving vehicles, Bloomberg reported.

This initiative, aimed at the US Transport Department, could significantly benefit Tesla, which has long pursued autonomous driving technology.

The Bloomberg report, citing unnamed sources, suggested Trump’s team sees autonomous vehicle regulation as a key focus. CNBC said it is yet to independently confirm the report and is awaiting comments from Trump’s team and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, has been a prominent advocate for Trump’s return to office, and their close relationship could now benefit Tesla. Trump recently appointed Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), tasked with reducing regulatory barriers.

A federal framework for self-driving vehicles would boost Tesla's long-term goal of deploying robotaxis—autonomous vehicles that operate without human intervention. Last month, Musk unveiled Tesla’s "Cybercab," a $30,000 two-seater with no steering wheel or pedals, alongside the "Robovan." He projected that Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology could operate without human supervision in Texas and California by next year.

While Tesla's FSD system is currently "supervised," requiring human oversight, the company faces competition from Google’s Waymo, which has already introduced robotaxis on public roads.

Bloomberg reported Trump’s team is considering policy leaders, including former Uber executive Emil Michael and Republican lawmakers Sam Graves and Garret Graves, to shape self-driving regulations.