NEW YORK — Tesla stock is riding a wave of autonomy optimism. Shares of Tesla — NASDAQ: TSLA — jumped in the most recent session as the company launched its purpose-built Cybercab robotaxi in Austin, extending a rebound that has run through much of the past month.
The Move
In Thursday's session, $TSLA closed up about 5.4% at roughly $376.37, after touching an intraday high of $384.04 — more than $25 above the prior close near $357. It was Tesla's strongest trading level since mid-July and capped a run that began when the stock bottomed at a 52-week low of $297.38 on July 29. From that trough, shares have climbed roughly 20%, helped by a nearly 6% rally to close at $367.95 earlier in the week. The move mirrors the upbeat tone we flagged in our last daily look at why Tesla stock was firming up.
The Why
The clear catalyst is the Cybercab. Traders positioned aggressively ahead of Tesla's September 3 launch event in Austin, where the two-seat, steering-wheel-free vehicle carried its first riders outside the company and public bookings were set to open. Morgan Stanley framed the event as a binary setup, arguing that a meaningful rollout of unsupervised vehicles would let the stock regain momentum; the firm holds a $400 price target. Others are more bullish still — TD Cowen carries a Buy rating and a $460 target, projecting Cybercab operating costs as low as roughly 30 cents per mile at scale.
Underpinning the enthusiasm is the bet that Tesla can turn its robotaxi fleet — now around 420 registered vehicles in Texas, including 45 Cybercabs — into a nationwide autonomous ride-hailing network. Musk has leaned into the vehicle's cost advantage over rivals, a message investors clearly rewarded.
