Tesla (TSLA) teased a ‘7/10’ event last week. Rumors circulated that the firm would develop flying electric cars. Instead, Tesla announced a stripped-down, $39,900 version of its Model Y. TSLA stock fell from $450 to close at $413.49 on Oct. 10.
Before that announcement, CEO Elon Musk said on Oct. 14 that it would roll out FSD v14. The Full Self-Driving software faced a brief delay due to a technical glitch. Two weeks after that launch, Tesla would release 14.1, followed by 14.2 two weeks later. Unfortunately, the government is investigating its safety history.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said last Thursday that it initiated an investigation into 2.88 million Tesla units that had FSD systems. The product had more than 50 traffic safety violations, some of which included crashes.
While leading DOGE to cut government costs, Elon Musk also reduced staff at the NHSTA. Fortunately, public safety will prevail as investigations begin. If the NHSTA succeeds in characterizing FSD as not offering self-driving but instead high risk, consumers will avoid buying that software.
People would also avoid Tesla Cyber cabs. Instead, they would ride in Waymo, which uses more sensors like laser pulses, cameras, and radar sensors. Tesla’s FSD relies only on camera sensors.
Watch out for TSLA stock facing higher selling pressure from here.
