Tesla stock rises on hopes for federal self-driving regulations by Trump

Tesla’s shares climbed nearly 5% on Monday after Bloomberg News reported that President-elect Donald Trump’s team plans to prioritise a federal regulatory framework for self-driving vehicles, CNBC reported.

The move, if confirmed, could accelerate Tesla’s ambitions in autonomous driving.

The Bloomberg report, citing unnamed sources, suggests the framework will be a key focus for the US Transport Department under Trump’s administration. CNBC reported it is yet to verify the claims and is awaiting responses from Trump’s team and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Elon Musk, a vocal Trump supporter during the recent elections, could benefit from this regulatory shift. Musk was recently appointed to head the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), tasked with cutting bureaucracy and easing regulations.

Tesla has been striving to develop fully autonomous vehicles and recently unveiled its "Cybercab," a two-seater robotaxi concept, and the "Robovan." While Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system remains "supervised," Musk has projected unsupervised FSD technology in Model 3 and Model Y vehicles as early as next year.

Despite these advancements, Tesla faces competition from Google’s Waymo, which has already deployed robotaxis on public roads.

Trump’s transition team is reportedly evaluating candidates, including ex-Uber executive Emil Michael and Republican lawmakers Sam Graves and Garret Graves, to guide the federal regulatory effort.