It turns out that electric vehicle giant Tesla (TSLA) has a couple of new tools in its toolkit that are collectively catching investor attention. The latest word suggests that Tesla Vision can actually preemptively fire airbags ahead of a crash. That might actually be a life-saving measure, if it works correctly. And this news managed to wipe out a lot of yesterday’s losses, as Tesla shares jumped nearly 4% in Wednesday afternoon’s trading.
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A recent update to Tesla Vision, which is the name for the set of exterior cameras on Tesla vehicles, now allows the system to detect a crash about to happen. Once that takes place, the Tesla can then activate its safety features, including airbags, before the impact actually arrives. Tesla Vision does not make this decision in isolation, but rather as part of a set of other systems, including impact sensors.
The net gain is only about a fraction of a second, reports note, but that fraction of a second can actually be particularly helpful in protecting the occupants of the Tesla in question. The system also needs substantial safety testing. It is easy to remember here how Tesla’s self-driving systems have notably malfunctioned in recent months, and wonder how Tesla airbags suddenly going off on their own accord would snarl up traffic.
A Play for the Budget-Minded Chinese Driver
Meanwhile, Tesla is also making a play for the budget-minded driver. This sounds like a great idea, especially considering the mounting concerns that Americans are experiencing around making ends meet. Then you discover that the budget-minded driver in question is actually the Chinese driver, and the whole program looks like it may have less impact than it could have.
Basically, Tesla plans to offer a cut in the down payment on a Shanghai-made Model 3, if the buyer goes with a five-year loan offered internally at Tesla. The down payment for the 235,500 yuan vehicle would drop from 79,900 yuan to 55,900 yuan, a substantial drop. It likely would draw some interest, because the buyers in question would need less cash immediately to get behind the wheel.
Is Tesla a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on TSLA stock based on 12 Buys, 12 Holds, and five Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 24.67% rally in its share price over the past year, the average TSLA price target of $403.86 per share implies 10.01% downside risk.
