Tesla Stock Rise on Upbeat Sales Forecasts, Robotaxi Launch Approaches (Video)

Tesla (TSLA) shares are rising as investors await the company’s much-anticipated robotaxi debut and third-quarter sales results.

Shares of the electric vehicle company led by Elon Musk rose more than 4% on Monday. Tesla is finally set to unveil its self-driving taxis on Oct. 10 after months of delays. The company will also announce third-quarter deliveries in early October. Wall Street analysts are forecasting sales will rise 6% from a year ago to about 460,000 electric vehicles.

Barclays analyst Daniel Levy said in a bullish note to investors Monday that he expects Tesla deliveries to rise more than consensus estimates. Levy forecast Tesla will deliver about 470,000 electric vehicles, which would be an 8% increase from a year ago. He pointed to sales growth in China, despite a much weaker performance from domestic rival BYD (1211.HK).

“Given the positive data released so far this quarter, especially in China, we believe Tesla’s sales trend is well-understood and investors are expecting better results,” Levy wrote.

Tesla has faced a series of high-profile issues over the past year, from serious safety concerns and mass recalls to factory closures, layoffs and increased competition in China. Three senior Tesla executives resigned this spring. But after a dismal first-quarter earnings report, Tesla did better than expected in the second quarter by cutting prices. Deliveries in the second quarter came in at nearly 440,000, easily beating analysts’ expectations.

The company’s stock finished with its second significant turnaround in 2024. Monday’s earnings left it relatively flat this year. Levy said “Robotaxi Day” will likely contribute to that upward trajectory.

Tesla is betting on success in a market where others have stumbled. Like his views on space travel and brain chips, Musk’s promise of a world full of self-driving cars seems distant. Other attempts to introduce self-driving taxis into city traffic have been chaotic—even disastrous.

Alphabet (GOOG)-owned Waymo came under federal scrutiny after crashes and traffic violations this spring, and in June the company recalled its fleet of nearly 700 self-driving cars. But Waymo is back in the game, recently announcing an expanded partnership with Uber that will bring taxis to more cities.

Cruise, owned by General Motors (GM), will also hit the road again after suspending operations last year when a driverless taxi hit a pedestrian and dragged her 20 feet — this time with humans behind the wheel.

“Most people still have no idea how devastatingly good Tesla FSD will become,” Musk said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, in late March, referring to Tesla’s “Full Self-Drive” mode. “It will be superhuman to the point that it will seem strange in the future that people will be driving cars while exhausted and drunk!”

After repeated rejections, Tesla’s robotaxi day on October 10 could reveal whether Tesla is up to the task of changing public opinion toward the future Musk envisions.

Laura Bratton is a reporter for Yahoo Finance.

Click here for the latest stock market news and in-depth analysis, including events that affect stock prices

Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance