Recent reports of the new Tesla Model YL have given electric vehicle giant Tesla (TSLA) a bit of a boost in the field of late. However, the news has not always been positive, and the latest reports suggest that the Model YL might not be as welcome as previously thought. This did not stop investors from buying in, though, and shares gained a little over 2% in Monday afternoon’s trading.
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The recent launch of the Tesla Model YL presented a decent prospect at first: a car that was slightly larger than the Model Y, with an extra seat and a price tag that represented a modest bump. It also had roughly similar driving range to the Model Y. However, the bad news came in when reports noted that the Model YL would likely not be hitting United States markets any time soon.
Word directly from Elon Musk himself, as noticed on X, revealed that the YL “…doesn’t start production in the US until the end of next year. Might not ever, given the advent of self-driving in America.” And while some might dispute just how close to self-driving we really are, the point remains that the YL will not be available in the United States until at least 2026.
Speaking of that Self-Driving Thing….
The advent of self-driving in America may be a bit more delayed than Musk would like to admit. Especially now that a new federal investigation into those self-driving features is starting up. This investigation revolves around whether or not Tesla “…delayed notifying the government about crashes involving its driver assistance technology.”
These crashes, noted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), must be reported. And while Tesla seems to have made the reports, it did not always do so in timely fashion. Reports must be filed “…within one or five days of Tesla receiving notice of the crash.” But Tesla apparently took “…several months or more…” to make those filings. Tesla noted that it has made progress to fix and report data, but the NHTSA investigation wants to prove that for itself.
Is Tesla a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on TSLA stock based on 13 Buys, 15 Holds, and eight Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 59.47% rally in its share price over the past year, the average TSLA price target of $305.37 per share implies 12.34% downside risk.
