Tesla Stock (NASDAQ:TSLA) Slides Despite Semi’s Win With Truckers

Electric vehicle giant Tesla TSLA -1.58% ▼ is still in the vehicle market, and some of its vehicles are proving to be unexpected hits. In fact, reports note, the Tesla Semi is proving to be an absolute hit with truckers thanks to a few key features that make a Semi’s operation a lot easier. This market may be too niche for investors, though, who sent Tesla shares down nearly 1.5% in Friday afternoon’s trading.

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One case underscored the huge potential the Semi has. Dakota Shearer, a trucker, drove a Semi when he unfortunately made a wrong turn around Sparks, Nevada. And a wrong turn can be a disaster for any semi truck. But the Tesla Semi offered a critical advantage: multiple cameras and screens, which allowed Shearer to see everything around his Semi, including in what would have been blind spots previously. Shearer could therefore back out of his predicament and take the correct turn.

Shearer’s position in the truck—in the center of the cab instead of on the left—proved a winner as well. Other truckers cited the faster charging, longer range, and reduced expense. It turns out a Tesla Semi runs about $100,000 less than other battery-electric trucks. The fact that the noise is vastly reduced does not hurt matters either; a diesel engine is much noisier than an electric motor.

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One Probe Settles Simply

So even as Tesla faces mounting concern from regulators, it turns out that one regulatory issue has been put to rest: the one-pedal driving concept. Federal regulators announced that one-pedal driving is not causing Tesla vehicles to suddenly accelerate. This in turn means there is no need to recall them, either.

Many electric vehicles, noted one report, use regenerative braking as a means to slow down a vehicle and also recover some energy. And a car can engage regenerative braking when the driver lifts a foot from the pedal. A petition sent to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) suggested that such a practice causes a “short circuit” in drivers’ brains. But the NHTSA rejected this notion, and with it, the idea that Tesla would have to recall every vehicle it has built since 2013.

Is Tesla a Buy, Hold or Sell?

Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on TSLA stock based on 13 Buys, 11 Holds, and seven Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 52.91% rally in its share price over the past year, the average TSLA price target of $399.25 per share implies 6.48% upside potential.

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