In most places, texting and driving is illegal. Even in the places where it is not, it is still pretty dangerous. But electric vehicle giant Tesla (TSLA), via CEO Elon Musk, revealed that you can indeed do so while using Full Self-Driving (Supervised) (FSD) in a Tesla car. The notion proved mildly repellent to investors, though, who sent shares down fractionally in Friday afternoon’s trading.
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Musk did indeed note that it would be possible to send text messages while driving in a Tesla that is using FSD, specifically, FSD v14.2.1. Musk did of course make a sop to basic driving safety, noting that sending texts while driving would depend on “…context of surrounding traffic…” which is honestly fair. When you are the only car on the road and the car is doing most of the driving, sending a text message would likely go through without issue, making it a behavior that is illegal but also likely safe at the time.
This in turn led some commentators to implore readers to “…not listen to the billionaire CEO of the company that makes your car.” It was also worth pointing out that the new version of FSD in question would finally allow for an “unsupervised” state, in which you actually could send a text message while your car was in motion. And as we close in on the ability to have a car drive itself completely, this will likely force a reconsideration of the laws that prevent such things as texting and driving.
The Unlikely Analyst
The issue of Tesla’s pricing is front-and-center for a lot of investors out there, and so, many seek out analyst perspectives on just where that price is going. One report should give all those investors—and analysts—pause as the report turned to ChatGPT to project a price target for Tesla to close out 2025. As it turned out, the target it gave was not too far from the current target.
The model involved offered a 30-day outlook using a set of technical indicators and a look at recent price action. The price target that emerged was $429.85, a slight drop from current prices, but given the current average price target on TipRanks of $383.04, it is more than feasible. With other AI predictions suggesting Tesla could go to $541 by 2030, though, it is worth considering.
Is Tesla a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on TSLA stock based on 13 Buys, 11 Holds, and 10 Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 16.78% rally in its share price over the past year, the average TSLA price target of $383.04 per share implies 15.7% downside risk.
