Tesla Robotaxi Launch Could Boost Stock, Says Truist Analyst William Stein

With a steady price target of $280, Truist Securities maintained its Hold rating on Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares on May 24. Analyst William Stein offered insights into how Tesla's upcoming Robotaxi service might affect the company's stock price.

Stein's observations are influenced by his personal experience with Waymo's autonomous ride-hailing service and Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology. He bases his assessment on his own test drives of Tesla's FSD in August 2024 and January 2025, as well as a recent Waymo trip from Phoenix Airport to a hotel 24 miles away.

According to Stein, although he was impressed with Waymo's technology, it had some shortcomings. Of course, he expects Tesla's Robotaxi service, which is scheduled to debut in Austin in June, to also have flaws. Despite these anticipated drawbacks, Stein thinks that the launch of the Robotaxi service—even on a modest scale—could boost Tesla's stock price.

While we acknowledge the potential of TSLA to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk.  If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than TSLA and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

Read More: 10 Best Stocks to Buy According to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust and 15 Best Stocks to Buy According to Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies.

Disclosure: None.