With the year coming to an end, electric vehicle giant Tesla (TSLA) is about to go out with a bang. Not only is it pulling out all the stops to sell Model Y cars, but it is also ramping up its robotics chops and its self-driving vehicle operations. In fact, new reports say that, by the end of the year—or perhaps very early in 2026—driverless robotaxis will cruise the streets of Austin. This news left investors mildly concerned, as shares dropped fractionally in Wednesday afternoon’s trading.
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Tesla looks to pull the “safety monitors” from Robotaxi passenger seats in “about three weeks.” Of course, some point out, Tesla has been promising this for some time now to little effect, so it remains to be seen whether or not the goal will become reality as it has failed to do in the past.
For his part, Elon Musk—while at a videoconferencing event for xAI (XAIIQ)—noted, “Unsupervised is pretty much solved at this point. There will be Tesla Robotaxis operating in Austin with no one in them, not even anyone in the passenger seat, in about three weeks. I think it’s pretty much a solved problem, we’re just going through validation right now.” So it is clear that Elon is confident on this point, but his confidence has been misplaced before.
The Surprising New Partnership
That is not all, though, as Tesla also revealed a new collaborative effort between itself and BOXABL, which will see an exciting new feature potentially added to Supercharger locations. With BOXABL involved, Tesla is set to add Micromenity structures, which have been seen at Supercharger locations in Europe.
The Micromenity locations are not particularly big, maybe only a few hundred square feet each. But each comes with restrooms, snacks, drinks, even gaming consoles. It is a way for Tesla drivers to get out of their cars and relax while the cars recharge, a clever idea that could keep Tesla drivers charging at specifically Tesla-owned locations. It would also make for a solid revenue stream, almost as if a car company owned gas stations.
Is Tesla a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on TSLA stock based on 12 Buys, 12 Holds, and 10 Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 4.8% rally in its share price over the past year, the average TSLA price target of $383.54 per share implies 13.96% downside risk.
