'The Worst Place to Drive in America': Tesla Stock (NASDAQ:TSLA) Gains on Plans to Bring Robotaxi Service to New York

Business Insider

21 hours ago

There are perfectly valid reasons why an episode of The Simpsons referred to New York City as an 'urban death maze.' But electric vehicle giant Tesla (TSLA) may be poised to make getting around that city a lot easier thanks to robotaxi service, which it hopes to bring therein. There are signs that this plan may not work as expected, however. Investors are eager to see an expansion, and sent Tesla shares up nearly 2% in Monday afternoon's trading.
Elevate Your Investing Strategy:
Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence.
Tesla has had plans to expand elsewhere for quite some time, as evidenced by listings for 'vehicle operators' that have been posted throughout America's cities. Brooklyn is actually on the list as well, which would represent one of the biggest challenges that Tesla's autodrive systems will ever face. Brooklyn is well-known for a 'good-luck' approach to traffic.
With delivery vans, electric bikes, and an overall traffic infrastructure that was once described as '…general chaos that wreaks havoc on even the most seasoned drivers…,' it is clear that an autodrive system would have a lot to look out for. Given that Tesla is being 'super paranoid' about safety—which makes perfect sense given some incidents—it is not a surprise it wants a human backup involved, hence the job listings.
China-Made EV Sales in Freefall
Meanwhile, a bit of bad news floated in from China, where electric vehicles are a market that could be described as 'oversaturated.' The Tesla models made in China suffered a significant blow to their sales. Sales were down 8.4% against the figures from July 2024. Model 3 and Model Y sales hit 67,886 units for July, reports noted, which was also down 5.2% against the figures from June 2025.
A combination of growing numbers of competitors and a market that is not really expanding left Tesla on the back foot, forced to take smaller slices of a pie that is roughly the same size it has always been. With the United States poised to drop tax credits for electric vehicles with the end of September, that will deliver another blow to Tesla going forward. It also helps explain why Tesla is pivoting toward robotics and other ventures.
Is Tesla a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on TSLA stock based on 14 Buys, 15 Holds, and eight Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 52.17% rally in its share price over the past year, the average TSLA price target of $310.84 per share implies 0.63% downside risk.