Tesla Inc (TSLA) Shares Rise On Bullish IHS Autonomous Vehicle Forecast

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares were on the rise Tuesday following a very optimistic forecast from a major research firm regarding the growth of self-driving vehicles.

Researchers at IHS Markit said that over 33 million autonomous vehicles will be sold globally in 2040. That’s up from the 51,000 units the firm expects to be sold in 2021, which is the first year the analysts believe fully self-driving cars will hit the market.

IHS says the U.S. will will lead the world in terms of initial deployment and early adoption of production autonomous vehicles as early as 2019. Europe and China are expected to begin adding considerable volume from 2021 onward. Ride hailing and sharing are also seen as key cogs in the wheel of autonomy.

“The first autonomous vehicle volumes — beyond retrofit test vehicles — will arrive in 2019 through driverless mobility services,” commented Egil Juliussen, director of automotive technology research at IHS Markit. “Volumes will surpass 51,000 units in 2021 when personally owned autonomous cars reach individual buyers for the first time, and IHS Markit forecasts estimate nearly 1 million units will be sold in 2025 across shared fleets and individually owned cars,” he added.

Tesla, of course, is seen as a key player in the self-driving world. It was one of the first automakers to offer semi-autonomous driving capabilities with its Autopilot system, and the company is promising big progress on the self-driving front this year after a rather lackluster 2017 in terms of updates.

Tesla Inc shares were trading at $319.97 per share on Tuesday morning, up $8.62 (+2.77%). Year-to-date, TSLA has gained 2.77%, versus a 0.56% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

TSLA currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of C (Neutral), and is ranked #19 of 24 stocks in the Auto & Vehicle Manufacturers category.

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