Elon Musk spent some time trolling Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) skeptics following the company’s 23 percent boost over the past month.

Tesla’s rally on Wall Street over the past several weeks has completely erased any losses investors felt since the start of 2025. So far this year, shares have risen by over 13 percent.

Most of this has been evident over the past month, as the company has seen a nearly 25 percent increase in the past thirty days.

With the imminent abolishment of the $7,500 EV tax credit, some analysts and investors expected the stock to take a hit. It is no secret that the tax credit’s expiration will impact demand to some extent. In the short term, it has been strong for the company’s delivery outlook in Q3.

Musk trolled those who thought the stock would respond negatively to the tax credit going away:

A lot of people thought Tesla stock would collapse as the tax credits came to an end this month.

Guess not.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 25, 2025

The strength of Tesla shares over the past several weeks has prompted several analysts to adjust price targets and their firms’ overall outlook with the company’s automotive division, as well as its other projects.

Mizuho analysts pushed their price target from $375 to $450, mostly due to Tesla’s strength moving forward as a leader in the U.S. EV market.

Vijay Rakesh, managing director at the firm, wrote in a note to investors:

“We see TSLA maintaining key leadership in the U.S. BEV market despite some near-term challenges.”

Mizuho raises Tesla (TSLA) price target on stronger 2026 outlook

Some of this strength relies on the rollout of the lower-cost “Model 2,” which Tesla said it built the first production units of in its Q2 Earnings Shareholder Deck.

Goldman Sachs also increased its Tesla price target from $300 to $395, which is still below the current trading levels.

However, the firm is more bullish on the company’s humanoid robotics and autonomy projects:

“If Tesla can have [an] outsized share in areas such as humanoid robotics and autonomy, then there could be upside to our price target.”

Tesla shares are currently trading at $424.54 at the time of publication.

China’s regulatory agency handling automotive concerns has released a draft on what it is considering to be standard for door handle designs on vehicles, following some scrutiny it placed upon Tesla’s designs.

Over the past few weeks, we have reported on two different criticisms Tesla has faced with its door handle designs, one in China and one in the United States. Both will require the company to come up with solutions and potentially new engineering.

Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen appeared on Bloomberg last week and said the company is already looking to implement something that will bring together the mechanical and electrical releases that the door handles depend on.

Tesla addresses door handle complaints with simple engineering fix

Some vehicles in the Tesla lineup already have mechanical latches on all four doors to enable them to open in the event of a dead battery. However, there are some additional measures that need to be taken.

The first guidelines are being released by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), which composed a draft called “Technical Requirements for Automobile Door Handle Safety.”

🚨 It sounds like some changes will be coming to Tesla’s door handles in China

The MIIT wrote in a new case study that it’s requiring a change to prevent getting locked in the car:

“[The] operating space must be ≥60mm×20mm×25mm (roughly the space for a palm to maneuver).” https://t.co/IYkruyzogI

— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) September 24, 2025

There are a handful of new standards, including a required mechanical release for every door on the vehicle apart from the trunk. Additionally, there are some other requirements, such as the ability to open side doors from the external handles without the use of tools.

Here are the six guidelines that the MIIT are mulling as requirements (via CarNewsChina):

• Every door (excluding trunk lids) must feature an external handle with mechanical release functionality
• In case of accidents involving battery thermal events, non-collision side doors must be openable through external handles without tools
• External door handles must provide adequate hand operation space of at least 60mm×20mm×25mm, regardless of handle position
• Every door must include internal handles with mechanical release capability that can open doors without external tools
• If electric internal handles are installed, mechanical backup handles must also be provided
• Internal handles must be easily identifiable, clearly visible, positioned within 300mm of door edges, and located within specific zones relative to seating positions

These new standards were developed by the China Automotive Standardization Research Institute, and Deputy Director Rong Hui stated that the organization used 63 vehicle models from 20 different companies to establish these early requirements:

“With the development of automotive electrification, electric concealed door handles have been widely adopted, and the operation methods and structural types of door handle products on the market are increasingly diverse. These standards aim to respond to new technologies and safety requirements.”

The MIIT also did its own research, which utilized 230 different vehicle models’ door handle configurations. Validation testing was performed on more than 20 models.

Tesla’s Planned Adjustments

Based on what von Holzhausen said, Tesla plans to make some adjustments to its door handles, implementing simple fixes.

Tesla plans to combine both the mechanical and electrical releases to help reduce stress in “panic situations.” Franz said the company has a “really good solution for that.”

In regard to the mechanical release, he said, “it’s in the cars now…The idea of combining the electronic and the manual one together in one button, I think, makes a lot of sense.”

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has finalized a major agreement with Elon Musk’s xAI, making its Grok artificial intelligence models available to government agencies nationwide. 

Announced on Thursday, the deal provides access to Grok at $0.42 per organization, one of the lowest pricing structures yet for AI services under GSA’s OneGov initiative. The contract runs until March 2027, marking the longest term for a OneGov AI agreement to date.

Low-cost access

The agreement covers both Grok 4 and Grok 4 Fast, xAI’s advanced reasoning models, and includes dedicated engineering support for agencies adopting the tools, the GSA stated in a press release. Federal offices will also be able to pursue upgrade paths to enterprise subscriptions aligned with FedRAMP and Department of Defense security standards.

To make adoption easier, xAI will deliver training programs and tailored enablement services, helping agencies integrate AI models into existing workflows securely. The GSA emphasized that the contract is designed to accelerate responsible AI use while standardizing pricing and avoiding duplicative procurement deals across the government.

Federal Acquisition Service Commissioner Josh Gruenbaum is optimistic about Grok’s use in the federal government. “Widespread access to advanced AI models is essential to building the efficient, accountable government that taxpayers deserve—and to fulfilling President Trump’s promise that America will win the global AI race. We value xAI for partnering with GSA—and dedicating engineers—to accelerate the adoption of Grok to transform government operations,” he stated.

Expanding AI access

The Grok agreement is part of the broader OneGov Strategy, which was launched earlier this year to modernize federal technology acquisition. Under the initiative, agencies gain access to AI tools from leading providers at negotiated rates, ensuring consistent pricing and simplified procurement. Companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Meta have signed similar deals, but xAI’s contract is currently the longest in duration and lowest in cost. For context, OpenAI is charging government agencies $1 per year for ChatGPT, as noted in a Bloomberg News report.

Elon Musk, for his part, is grateful for the opportunity to use Grok in the federal government. “xAI has the most powerful AI compute and most capable AI models in the world. Thanks to President Trump and his administration, xAI’s frontier AI is now unlocked for every federal agency empowering the U.S. Government to innovate faster and accomplish its mission more effectively than ever before,” he said.

xAI cofounder Ross Nordeen also shared his thoughts about the matter. “‘Grok for Government’ will deliver transformational AI capabilities at $0.42 per agency for 18 months, with a dedicated engineering team ensuring mission success. We will work hand in glove with the entire government to not only deploy AI, but to deeply understand the needs of our government to make America the world leader in advanced use of AI,” he said.