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Trump effect takes hold of Tesla’s (TSLA) stock price
Why has Tesla’s stock price increased so much in value over the past couple of months? What effects have a Trump Presidency had on Tesla stock values? And, overall, why have there been so many skeptics who’ve openly voiced concerns about Tesla’s validity as an investment?
Tesla has seen a pattern in which, due to delivery date misses, analysts have critiqued the company’s overall growth potential. They often wonder aloud whether turning monies back into the Tesla business makes sense for investors. Increasing scrutiny of new competitors for a currently small but potentially significant electric vehicle market has complicated the overall Tesla stock valuation picture.
And then there’s CEO Elon Musk, widely known for working 100 hour weeks while he runs both the Tesla automotive company and SpaceX.
Over the past year, a cycle has taken place in which sliding stock prices are followed by strong public sentiment that pushes stocks prices upward. Helpful for the overall Tesla financial health picture have been carefully placed Tesla news events, model improvements, software updates, or new company acquisitions, such as SolarCity.
What’s changed from late 2016 into early 2017 with TSLA?
TSLA stocks are currently receiving very positive reports from the market. Shares have risen nearly 20% since the beginning of the year and up over 40% from the period between November’s low through January, 2017. Just last week, Morgan Stanley’s lead auto analyst, Adam Jonas raised Tesla’s price target from $242 to $305 with associated higher earnings prediction for fiscal year 2018.
Partially that optimism rises from a view that Tesla can launch its $35,000 Model 3 on schedule. Tesla describes Model 3 targets on its website as production beginning in mid-2017 and delivery estimates for new reservations in mid 2018 or later. Jonas has given the nod to the likelihood that Tesla will be able to create additional business through car-sharing, but also cited a “supportive political environment” as cause for the upgrade.
There’s also Tesla’s short interest, which has jumped 27.8 percent in the past year. Traders have wagered that the Model 3 may not live up to the market’s sky-high expectations.
The Trump effect on TSLA
Possibly the most important reason that TSLA stock has been trading with a brighter outlook is the addition to Musk’s collaboration with newly-elected President Donald Trump. When Musk first agreed to participate as one of Trump’s council of business leaders, much consternation arose among Tesla fans. The President has reiterated a strong stance since then on creating U.S. jobs by bringing the workforce back into the U.S.
But, with Tesla increasing production at its California plant and returns quickly mounting at its Gigafactory in Nevada, the Tesla Effect is jobs, jobs, jobs. Tesla is already well on its way to accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable mobility by producing electric vehicles in sufficient volume and forcing change in the automobile industry.
Trump urged U.S. car manufacturers on Tuesday to build more cars in the U.S as part of a plan to discourage the car industry from investing abroad. In response, the Big Three voiced concerns about fuel efficiency standards, trade policy, and regulatory concerns.
Silencing the roaring bears
With more cash on hand than expected, Tesla has wilted the case of the more aggressive bears. At the end of 2016, analysts noted increased company efficiency, which dampened the previous overarching view that Tesla would need a capital infusion in early 2017. So, too, in Tesla’s favor is its ability to sell carbon credits against its zero emissions vehicles. With former Audi exec Peter Hochholdinger now on payroll to improve and accelerate production, Tesla will also only improve in its production methodology.
As Tesla’s production process shifts to widespread automation through machines that build machines, these and other improvements have diminished the bear case against Tesla. Certainly, 2017 and beyond contain challenges for Tesla. But, at least for now, Tesla has made significant strides to move the Wall Street bulls a lot closer to its point of view.
News
Tesla’s Cybercab fleet jumped 8x in a month, with Dallas up next
Tesla confirms its first official Cybercab fleet number as Austin scales fast and Dallas looms.
Tesla says more than 300 Cybercabs are now serving Austin, the first time the company has put an official number on its active Cybercab fleet. The figure came from the Robotaxi account on X on Saturday, which wrote that one month after launch the service had “scaled to 300+ Cybercabs serving Austin – an 8x increase in 30 days.”
Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s head of AI software, quoted the post with a line that carried the bigger news. “Two years since the 10/10 Cybercab WeRobot event, the cabs are everywhere in Austin now. Dallas soon,” he wrote. It is the first time Tesla has named the next city for public Cybercab rides.
One month after launch, we’ve scaled to 300+ Cybercabs serving Austin – an 8x increase in 30 days https://t.co/EagJy2JAsm
— Robotaxi (@robotaxi) October 10, 2026
Tesla opened Cybercab rides to the public in Austin on September 4, as Teslarati reported, a day after an invite only launch event. The ramp since then has been steep. Our September 28 report had the fleet at well over 100 units after availability jumped from 58 to 125 in a single week. On Thursday, Tesla added 150 Cybercabs to the Texas automated vehicle registry, lifting its registered count to 319 from 169. The first seven appeared on the registry on August 31.
RobotaxiTracker, a community site that counts vehicles from sightings and state records, listed 275 vehicles in unsupervised service in Austin on Saturday, 105 of them Cybercabs, which is well below Tesla’s figure. Tracker counts can lag official numbers, though Sawyer Merritt noted that Cybercab wait times in Austin stayed short on Saturday evening even with more than 2,000 fans in town for X Takeover.
Regulators are watching the rollout. NHTSA opened an audit query into Tesla’s certification that the Cybercab meets federal safety standards, and sworn answers are due October 30. Tesla reports third quarter earnings on October 21, which gives the company a natural venue to define its fleet numbers and put a date on Dallas.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk roasts India’s billionaire Mukesh Ambani as Starlink fight heats up
Elon Musk sarcastically calls Mukesh Ambani ‘Prime Minister’ as the Starlink India standoff escalates again.
Elon Musk escalated his public fight over Starlink’s launch in India on Friday, addressing Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani as “Prime Minister Ambani” in a sarcastic post on X. “Please accept my humble apologies for not realizing that you are the real boss of India,” Musk wrote, before accusing Ambani of “monopolistic exploitation” and asking whether he would “consider allowing Starlink to compete.” In follow up posts, he said Starlink has proven essential during natural disasters and would help parts of India with no internet access.
The post came two days into a fight that Musk sparked up on Wednesday, when he said Starlink was “being blocked by certain oligarchs in order to maintain their monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people.” He called it “a crime against the people of India” and left the names out, adding only, “You can guess who they are.” Jio and Airtel together hold more than 80% of India’s telecom market. On Thursday, Musk asked whether Ambani is “the real boss of India” and said Starlink has spent five years complying with “every single law and requirement” of the Indian government.
Dear Prime Minister Ambani,
Please accept my humble apologies for not realizing that you are the real boss of India.
Naturally, you would prefer to maintain your monopolistic exploitation of the great people of India, but would you nonetheless consider allowing Starlink to compete?
There are many areas of India, as there are in all countries, with no Internet access, which denies children the opportunity for education and for small businesses the opportunity to sell their goods to a global market. Starlink would change their lives for the better.
Thank you 🙏
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 9, 2026
India’s government has pushed back each time. The Ministry of Communications called the suggestion that its framework is unfair or discriminatory “baseless and misconceived.” Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said Friday that three companies hold satcom licenses: Starlink, Jio Satellite Communications, and Bharti backed Eutelsat OneWeb. Amazon’s Kuiper, now Amazon Leo, is still going through the process. None can launch until regulators finalize satellite spectrum pricing and the Home Ministry signs off on each company’s security compliance. Scindia said the telecom regulator and the Department of Telecommunications are close to a decision on pricing, The Hindu reported. Bharti chairman Sunil Mittal also said OneWeb is still waiting on approvals.
Starlink received its operator license in 2025 after a three year wait, and the space regulator IN-SPACe granted what industry executives called the last approval needed in July. The holdup since then centers on security, particularly concern that foreign operators could bypass Indian gateways.
Musk and Ambani have been on opposite sides of this before. In late 2024, Ambani argued for auctioning satellite spectrum, which Musk criticized as out of step with the rest of the world, and India chose administrative allocation instead. By March 2025, the two sides had signed a deal to sell Starlink devices in Reliance stores, and Starlink secured its telecom license that June. That partner is now also a competitor. Jio is reportedly weighing a constellation of 1,600 to 1,650 satellites costing an estimated $10 billion to $15 billion, while Akash Ambani has told shareholders Jio plans to lease capacity from global providers to move quickly.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s surprise addition to the X Takeover lineup has fans talking
Elon Musk will join Saturday’s X Takeover at Giga Texas for a live virtual interview.
Elon Musk will join X Takeover at Giga Texas on Saturday for a live virtual interview, according to Sawyer Merritt, who shared the news late Thursday. Musk will not be on stage in Austin. The conversation is set to stream for free on the @teslaownersSV account on X.
Organizers had kept expectations in check. In a September update, Tesla Owners Silicon Valley said Musk had appeared at the event twice before but was not promising a third appearance, even as fans hoped he would walk the Giga Texas grounds in person. A virtual spot matches 2024, when Musk gave a surprise interview of about an hour to the crowd in San Luis Obispo, as Teslarati reported at the time.
Wasn’t expecting this 🫡
— Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) October 9, 2026
This year’s edition is a first in several ways. It is the first X Takeover held outside California and the first at a Tesla facility, with tickets selling out in eight days. Tesla provides the venue, but the event is produced independently by Tesla Owners Silicon Valley. The main event runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT, followed by a drone and light show at 9 p.m. Maye Musk is the keynote speaker, Franz von Holzhausen is set for a virtual keynote, and Nicki Minaj is the special guest. Joe Tegtmeyer, whose drone footage Teslarati used to track the Optimus factory steel frame at Giga Texas, is also on the speaker list.
Musk’s interview topics have not been revealed, but the backdrop is busy. Tesla doubled its Cybercab fleet in Austin in late September, and last week Musk explained why Robotaxi hours only moved from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.. Merritt also reported Thursday that Texas DMV records now show 319 registered Cybercabs, up from 169. NHTSA’s deadline for Tesla’s sworn answers on Cybercab certification is October 30, and Tesla reports third quarter earnings on October 21.
Fans who cannot make it to Austin can watch the livestream on X. Musk tends to say more in unscripted settings than he does in prepared remarks, which is the reason this one is worth having open on Saturday.
