Tesla (TSLA) shares rose slightly on Friday after regulators granted a five-week extension in a U.S. probe of its self-driving technology. The deadline now is February 23 to respond to allegations about its ‘full self-driving’ mode.
The NHTSA opened the probe in October 2025 and said it collected dozens of reports. Those reports included vehicles running red lights and driving on the wrong side of the road.
The original response deadline had been January 19, 2025, the agency said. At Friday’s close, TSLA traded near its 52-week high and above the 200-day moving average.
Analysts expect faster robotaxi testing and rapid deployment before the Cybercab launch this year. “The news that Tesla is testing robotaxis without the safety monitors is in line with our expectations that the company is making progress in its testing, in line with management’s statements during the third quarter earnings call,” said Morningstar senior equity analyst Seth Goldstein.
Some analysts say robotaxis could out-earn EV sales that have fallen in two years. The consensus rating is Hold, from 13 Buys, nine Holds and eight Sells over three months.
After a roughly 6% rally over the past year, the average price target is about $394. That level implies roughly 8% downside from current prices.
