Tesla’s shares soared on Monday as the company kicked off a robotaxi trial in Austin, Texas, this week. The electric vehicle giant’s stock was the top performer in the S&P 500, which advanced 1% despite concerns about Iran’s retaliation for recent U.S. airstrikes. CEO Elon Musk said Tesla plans to begin with around 10 to 20 Model Y vehicles operating autonomously in the Texas capital before rapidly expanding to more locations and a larger fleet by the end of next year.
Analyst Dan Ives from Wedbush said robotaxis and self-driving software could significantly boost Tesla’s revenue by 2026. In other market news, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Bank of New York Mellon has expressed interest in a possible merger with its competitor, Northern Trust. Northern Trust shares jumped 8% following the report, while BNY shares slipped 2.2%.
Arista Networks, a cloud networking hardware and software provider, saw its stock rise 6.6% after Evercore ISI analysts raised their price target.
Tesla’s robotaxi trial begins in Austin
The analysts highlighted Arista’s partnerships with major cloud players, such as Facebook’s parent company Meta Platforms, as key drivers of revenue growth.
On the losing side, Super Micro Computer shares dropped 9.8%, the most in the S&P 500, after announcing a $2 billion convertible notes offering. The server maker said it will use the proceeds for general corporate purposes and to reduce potential dilution from the bond issuance. Crude oil futures prices eased off recent highs as concerns about the Middle East conflict abated, putting pressure on oil and gas stocks.
Shares of exploration and production company APA Corp. sank 7.9%, while oilfield services firms Halliburton and Schlumberger were down 6.8% and 5.9%, respectively. Biotech firm Amgen released results from a Phase 2 trial of its experimental obesity treatment MariTide, showing significant weight loss in participants.
However, Amgen shares lost 5.8%, possibly due to concerns about competition and side effects during the trial.