The Tesla (TSLA) stock price surged for the 3rd consecutive day after Tuesday’s Q1 2025 Earnings Call. The stock market showed an overall positive sentiment, but Tesla was one of the top gainers this week.
Yesterday, Tesla’s share price jumped by $25.44 (~10%) in a single day. Cumulatively, in the last 3 days, the Tesla stock gained around +20% per share (from $237.97 on Tuesday close to $284.95 close on Friday).
The major factor in yesterday’s surge was the U.S. Department of Transportation (US DOT) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announcing an easing in regulations governing the self-driving car technology.
NHTSA Eases Self-Driving Regulations
On Thursday, the USDOT Secretary Sean Duffy released an official US government announcement about the new automated vehicle (AV) regulations in a video on X (Twitter).
Sean explained the automated vehicle framework (AVF) that has the following three key components or objectives:
- Prioritize Safety
- Unleash Innovation
- Enable Commercial Deployment
All three of these objectives of the new AV policy framework suit Elon Musk’s car company, Tesla, Inc. (TSLA). The tech & AI automaker is betting on its Autopilot Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology to get far ahead of its competition.
In the United States, currently, Tesla is the only car company seriously pursuing AI-based self-driving tech. To unleash innovation, the new technology should not be bound by strict regulations.
“America is in the middle of an innovation race with China, and the stakes couldn’t be higher,” Sean Duffy said in his opening remarks of the announcement. “That’s why we’re unveiling an automated vehicle framework as part of our DOT’s innovation agenda,” Sean added.
Tesla is already testing Supervised FSD ride-hailing services in Texas and California. The automaker is aiming to launch an autonomous robotaxi service in select cities of both of these states in June. The new softer policy by USDOT and NHTSA will certainly help Tesla with delivering its FSD software for both its customers and the robotaxi service.
NHTSA has also lowered the crash reporting requirements for automated vehicles. This step has been taken to reduce overreporting of such incidents, which results in extra expenditures on the auto manufacturer’s side and unuseful redundant data for the NHTSA.
“The long-term goal here is to move us closer to a single national standard. We don’t want 50 states with 50 standards. We want one national standard for AVs,” the DOT Secretary said.
The DOT and NHTSA are also getting rid of unnecessary regulations for US-based car manufacturers in acquiring automated vehicle approvals. Sean Duffy referred to it as “cutting the unnecessary red tape”.
Prior to this announcement, imported vehicles received exemptions from strict regulations, but the local automakers did not have this privilege. Sean Duffy said that this does not make sense.
The secretary further stated the following:
Right now, vehicles made outside the country qualify for a quick exemption process. Meanwhile, AVs made here in America have to deal with a stringent permitting process. This makes zero sense.
Under this administration, we put America first. We’ve now fixed this by expanding the AV exemption program.
So, domestic vehicles—they are included. This will encourage innovation right here at home. America has always been the home of innovators, from the Wright Brothers to the first astronauts on the moon.
Our nation has always been at the cutting edge of transportation technology. Innovation is one of my top priorities, and I can’t wait to share more about how the DOT is bringing about the golden age of transportation.
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 stock rallied for straight three days after the Q1 call. The US-based automaker is benefiting from easing DOT and NHTSA policies around self-driving cars.){kind=link}
Great to see the NHTSA easing regulations! This could really boost Tesla’s self-driving tech and sales. Excited for the future!