Tesla (TSLA) Stock Dips as Nvidia DRIVE Wins BYD, Uber and Hyundai

TLDR

• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang projected $1 trillion in AI infrastructure demand between 2025 and 2027 at its GTC conference
• Uber plans to launch DRIVE-enabled robo-taxis across 28 global markets by 2028, a market Tesla had been targeting
• BYD, Hyundai, and Nissan also announced plans to adopt Nvidia’s DRIVE platform for autonomous driving
• Morgan Stanley values Tesla’s self-driving tech at ~$270 per share, or roughly $1.2 trillion — a valuation that depends on it staying unique
• Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the “Terafab Project” launches in 7 days, hinting at a push into AI hardware

Tesla has long traded on a premium tied to its AI and autonomous driving ambitions. But Nvidia’s GTC conference on Monday put a spotlight on a question investors may need to sit with: what happens to that premium if self-driving becomes a commodity?

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang took the stage and projected $1 trillion in AI infrastructure demand between 2025 and 2027. The headliner, for Tesla watchers, was Nvidia’s DRIVE platform — a system designed to turn any car into a robo-taxi using the DRIVE AGX Thor computer paired with cameras and lidar sensors.

Tesla, Inc., TSLA

Uber announced it will roll out DRIVE-enabled robo-taxis across 28 global markets by 2028. That’s a deal that could have gone to Tesla, which is building its own Cybercab and developing its own self-driving fleet business.

It wasn’t just Uber. BYD, Hyundai, and Nissan all confirmed plans to adopt DRIVE for their autonomous programs. Each new partner broadens Nvidia’s footprint in a space Tesla has been counting on for future growth.

Tesla’s EV sales have dropped for two consecutive years in both the U.S. and China. The stock is still up 141% over the past two years, but that run has been driven largely by robo-taxi and AI optimism, not vehicle sales momentum.

Morgan Stanley puts a $270-per-share value on Tesla’s autonomous driving technology alone — about $1.2 trillion based on its 4.5 billion fully diluted shares. That number rests on the assumption that Tesla’s self-driving capabilities remain distinctive enough to command premium economics.

If Nvidia Commoditizes Self-Driving, That Changes the Math

If DRIVE becomes the default stack for automakers worldwide, autonomous driving shifts from a moat to a feature. Fleet operators and consumers might pay for it, but probably not at the margins that justify a trillion-dollar valuation.

On the hardware side, Tesla is currently a major Nvidia customer. Its AI teams use large GPU clusters to train the models behind Full Self-Driving and its robotics projects. That makes Tesla one of the fastest-growing buyers of Nvidia compute.

Tesla’s Terafab Project Signals a Longer Play

But Musk’s latest post on X announced the “Terafab Project” launching within the week. It signals Tesla wants a bigger role in AI infrastructure — not just as a consumer of chips, but as a builder of its own hardware layer. Tesla already has its own vehicle silicon and the Dojo training system.

The pattern mirrors what Alphabet and Amazon have done — developing custom AI chips to reduce dependence on suppliers like Nvidia.

Tesla stock was down 0.1% in premarket Tuesday at $395. Nvidia was up 0.3% at $183.76. Uber climbed 2.6% to $76.60 following its DRIVE announcement.

The post Tesla (TSLA) Stock Dips as Nvidia DRIVE Wins BYD, Uber and Hyundai appeared first on CoinCentral.