It was bad news for shareholders of electric vehicle giant Tesla (TSLA), as a large bloc of stock officially got registered. Elon Musk landed 304 million shares of stock as part of his pay from 2018, which makes them freely available to be traded. This big new pile of shares would likely dilute the current shares, and current shareholders did sell off, a bit. Tesla shares were down fractionally in Monday afternoon’s trading.
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New trading tool for TSLA bearsThe shares in question were part of Elon Musk’s pay packet from 2018, which was called out by investors, and ultimately, was upheld by the Delaware Supreme Court last year. Musk’s 2018 options are set to expire in 2028, which means that he will likely have to sell a quantity of them in order to raise cash to address the tax implications involved. With Tesla stock down 16% so far this year, it might take more sales than expected to cover that bill.
The road to reach this point, meanwhile, took a lot of twists and turns. Originally, Tesla shareholders voted the award into being back in 2012, reports note. A Delaware judge shut that down in 2024, only for shareholders to again authorize the award. The judge again shut it down, and the Delaware Supreme Court stepped in to put the issue to rest once and for all. Musk got his shares, in the end, which brings us to today.
Robotaxi App Goes Live…on Android
Tesla also addressed an unexpected hole in its release strategy, at least as far as its app goes. The Robotaxi app has been on iOS for the last year or so. Now, the app is available for Android devices. This move came just days after Tesla stepped up Robotaxi services from Austin to both Dallas and Houston, reports note.
The Android app offers most of the same features, reports note, including license plate display, climate control adjustments, and vehicle drop-off location modifications. A key change, meanwhile, features the addition of Google Pay for payments.
Is Tesla a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on TSLA stock based on 13 Buys, 14 Holds, and five Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 31.63% rally in its share price over the past year, the average TSLA price target of $411.79 per share implies 10.23% upside potential.
