Bank of America Maintains Tesla (TSLA) "Buy" Rating, Referring to Driverless Taxi Scale, But "Price War" Will Become a Weapon to Catch Up or Even Overtake

Jinwu Financial News | According to the latest research report of Bank of America, as of June 16, 2026, data from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles shows that,Tesla(TSLA) currently has just 69 driverless taxis in Texas, temporarily lagging behind its main competitors in market expansion and fleet size locally. However, analysts note that Tesla is on the offensive with its significant price advantage. The data shows that,GoogleWaymo, owned by parent company Alphabet, leads the Texas driverless taxi market with an absolute advantage of 620 units; It was followed by AVRide (317), followed by Nuro (47) and Zoox (35). In terms of urban expansion, Tesla is currently only operating in 4 cities (another 5 cities are in preparation), while Waymo has already entered 11 cities. In addition, while Tesla conducts driverless testing in Texas, it still needs to have a safety officer in San Francisco. However, Bank of America analyst Alexander Perry noted in the report that Tesla's strategy was well thought out. Through pricing analysis of 10 operating routes, Tesla's average one-way cost is only $10.90, which is more thanUber、LyftAnd competitors such as Waymo (which averages about $13.70 each way) are more than 20% lower. Tesla is clearly accumulating ride data at the expense of profit margins and trying to grow market share with that. The price of a low price is reflected in the waiting time. Currently, the average wait time for a Tesla driverless taxi is around 10 minutes, compared to two to three minutes for competitors. In terms of safety data, which the market is most concerned about, Tesla's performance is generally satisfactory. Since becoming operational, Tesla has reported 18 minor accidents to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), averaging one per about 101,000 miles traveled, a slightly higher rate than Waymo (one per 108,000 miles). But it's worth noting that Tesla hasn't had any serious casualties so far, while Waymo has recorded 11. Meanwhile, consumer trust in autonomous driving is slowly picking up. According to AlphaRoc, the percentage of respondents who "completely distrust" self-driving cars now stands at 47%, down 2 percentage points from the same period last year. Based on the comprehensive valuation of Tesla's core automotive business, Robotaxi, FSD subscription service, Optimus robot, and energy storage business (forecast through 2040 through discounted cash flow method), Bank of America analyst Perry maintained a "Buy" rating on Tesla and set a price target of $460. Analysts believe Tesla is currently in the early stages of commercializing its autonomous driving capabilities. Although Waymo has the lead in fleet size and market layout, Tesla's price advantage will become a weapon for it to catch up or even overtake. The market gap between the two is expected to narrow further in the future.