Uber stock and shares of rival Lyft fell Monday following a report that Donald Trump will ease regulations for self-driving cars during his upcoming second presidential term. The report is adding fuel to investor concerns that Tesla's plan for a robotaxi network could challenge Uber's command of the ride-hailing market.
Bloomberg reported early Monday that members of the president-elect's transition team "have told advisers they plan to make a federal framework for fully self-driving vehicles one of the Transportation Department's priorities." The report cites anonymous sources. Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk, a key backer and advisor to Trump, has previously voiced support for national self-driving rules. Companies currently need state-by-state approval.
On the stock market today, Tesla stock gained 5.6% to close at 338.74 while Uber stock fell more than 5% to close at 69.34. Uber stock broke below its 200-day moving average and reached a two-month low. Shares of Lyft, meanwhile, lost 4.5% to close at 17.30.
Is Tesla A Threat To Uber Stock?
A national framework for self-driving could clear a big hurdle for Musk's vision of launching a robotaxi network. Musk told analysts last month that Tesla "expect(s) to roll out ride-hailing in California and Texas next year to the public." But Musk acknowledged that California would have a longer regulatory approval process, while Texas could launch sooner.
"Maybe some other states actually next year as well, but at least California and Texas," Musk said on the company's Oct. 23 earnings call. "I think that would be very exciting. That's really a profound change. Tesla becomes more than a sort of vehicle and a battery manufacturing company at that point."
A potential autonomous challenger from Tesla to Uber's rides business has weighed on shares of both Uber and Lyft since Musk teased an announcement earlier this year.
While Tesla revealed its autonomous CyberCab at an Oct. 10 event, ride-hailing was hardly mentioned. That seemed to ease concerns for Uber. The company's stock surged 11% the day after the Tesla event, which one Uber analyst called "toothless."
But Musk's comments on the earnings call two weeks later reignited investor concerns. And while Tesla still has a series of technological hurdles to prove its robotaxi service can be viable, it appears a Trump White House can help clear some regulatory hurdles. The Bloomberg report said that the Transportation Department could issue rules that ease the path toward self-driving adoption. A Congressional measure in "early stages" could also create federal rules, the Bloomberg report added.
Uber Partnering With AV Providers
Uber, meanwhile, isn't sitting idle when it comes to robotaxis. The company has pitched its app as a way for autonomous vehicle developers to find demand for their products. The ride-hailing giant has partnerships with Google's Waymo, GM's Cruise and Avride, among others, to place autonomous vehicles on the Uber app.
Lyft earlier this month announced its own AV-focused partnerships, including with technology developer Mobileye.
But Tesla appears focused on building its own ride-hail network. Musk has previously described the effort as an Airbnb and Uber hybrid. Tesla owners could place their cars on a ride-hailing app run by Tesla using the vehicle's so-called Full Self-Driving technology.
Uber stock broke out beyond an 82.14 buy point following Tesla's robotaxi event on Oct. 11. But shares have slumped since then. Shares slumped 9% following a Q3 earnings report that showed lower-than-expected bookings.
