• Tesla joined the club of technology companies valued at more than a trillion dollars after Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential elections.
• The stock price has climbed to more than $320 per share at the time of writing, but concerns of volatility loom amid ongoing NHTSA investigations into its fully autonomous driving software.

Tesla investors had a sense of deja vu heading into the weekend as the automaker’s market valuation surpassed $1 trillion for the first time since October 2021.

The automaker’s stock price has jumped nearly 30% since Tuesday as Donald Trump returned to power after winning the US presidential election. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla energized Trump’s campaign effort with at least $130 million in donations, aimed at obtaining favorable federal regulations for autonomous vehicles to help it bring its Robotaxi life ambitions.

At the time of writing, Tesla’s stock price had risen to over $320 per sharebringing Musk’s net worth to over $300 billion. As the world’s richest man keeps getting richer, he hopes to secure a key role in the Trump administration, potentially spearheading a Ministry of Government Effectiveness it could pave the way for federalized standards for autonomous vehicles.

Photo by: InsideEVs

With this, Tesla now joins the elite club of “big tech companies” like Nvidia, Microsoft, Google and Apple, which have seen their valuations soar due to increased investment in artificial intelligence and technology. Trump’s latest victory.

At a Hollywood-style event in early October called “We, Robot,” Tesla showed off its Robotaxi, a two-seater with gullwing doors and wireless charging technologywithout the traditional steering wheels and pedals. The event lacked technical and operational details, which fell Tesla stock price at the time and a decline in investor confidence.

Today, Tesla has recovered and is posting record gains.

However, the road ahead for Tesla’s Robotaxi aspirations is fraught with challenges. This week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the main auto safety regulator in the United States, criticized Tesla for its social media posts regarding Full-Self Driving software, the underlying technology which powers its future Robotaxi and its current electric vehicles.

NHTSA made public an email on Fridayasking Tesla to “review its communications” regarding messaging around FSD. Even though Tesla encourages driver supervision for FSD, the title has drawn criticism for being misleading. FSD is a level 2 driver assistance system with a summary safety assessment. NHTSA has asked Tesla to respond to the letter by December 18.

Just days after Robotaxi’s reveal, NHTSA opened its doors another investigation in 2.4 million Teslas equipped with FSD after four reported collisions, including one fatal accident. These include all Teslas manufactured from 2016 onwards, including the Cybertruck. So while Trump’s victory paints a rosy picture for the automaker, there’s still a long way to go before FSD actually earns the public’s trust.

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