Tesla Bets Big on FSD as Analysts Flash Caution

Tesla ( (TSLA) ) has been popular among investors this week. Here is a recap of the key news on this stock.

Tesla is doubling down on its Full Self-Driving (FSD) strategy as it looks to offset weakening electric vehicle sales with higher-margin software revenue. The company has quietly removed the Autosteer function from its mass-market Model 3 and Model Y, signaling a push to reserve advanced driver-assistance features for customers willing to pay for FSD on a subscription basis rather than as a one-time add-on. CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that the current $99 per month price for supervised FSD will rise as the technology progresses toward “unsupervised” autonomy, where drivers could theoretically sleep or use their phones for an entire trip. At the same time, Tesla is seeking regulatory approval to roll out FSD in Europe and China as early as next month, with the Netherlands potentially serving as a gateway market for broader European adoption.

Technologically, Tesla is showcasing rapid improvements: a 2024 Model S equipped with its latest AI4 hardware and FSD v14.2.2.3 recently completed a 3,000-mile Cannonball Run from Los Angeles to New York without any human intervention, even in winter conditions. In Austin, some Tesla robotaxis are now being tested without a human safety monitor, putting the company in more direct competition with Alphabet’s Waymo in the driverless taxi space. Despite these advances, Wall Street remains cautious. Across multiple analyst snapshots, Tesla carries a Hold consensus rating, with average price targets around $398–$402 per share implying roughly 10–11% downside from current levels after only modest share gains over the past year. For investors, the story is increasingly a high-stakes bet on whether Tesla’s FSD, AI, and robotaxi ambitions can compensate for a slowdown in its core EV business and justify its still-rich valuation.