Tesla (TSLA) Shares Close at a Record High

On Tuesday, 16 December 2025, Tesla shares closed at a new all-time high, breaking above the $488 level.

As a result, TSLA:
→ surpassed its December 2024 peak;
→ is up by roughly 125% from this year’s lows;
→ made Elon Musk the first person in the world whose net worth has exceeded $600 billion.

Why are TSLA Shares Rising?

Elon Musk has officially confirmed that Tesla has begun testing driverless robotaxis in Austin, Texas, without safety monitors in the vehicle. This marks an important step towards the large-scale deployment of the Robotaxi concept.

Despite a decline in electric vehicle sales in November (following the removal of tax incentives by the new US administration), TSLA shares continue to rise as market participants are pricing in Tesla’s potential dominance in artificial intelligence and autonomous transport — a development that could unlock fundamentally new revenue streams for the company.

Supporting this outlook, several investment banks have raised their price targets for TSLA. For instance, Mizuho analysts lifted their target to $530.

Technical Perspective

When analysing TSLA on 12 November, we:
→ identified an ascending channel and a support zone between $360 and $400;
→ suggested that the previous high was limiting bullish momentum, with the market entering a consolidation phase.

Since then (as shown by the blue arrow), TSLA shares:
→ broke out of the consolidation zone;
→ found support near the lower boundary of the ascending channel;
→ resumed their upward trend.

It is worth noting that trading volumes in early December were relatively low — which can be interpreted as a lack of selling pressure. However, the subsequent move into the upper half of the channel was accompanied by a surge in trading activity and the formation of a bullish gap (marked by the black arrow). This signals strong demand, with buyers willing to pay higher prices for a high-quality stock.

Looking ahead, it is possible that:
→ the former resistance at $465 will turn into a new support zone;
→ the current bullish impulse could drive attempts to challenge the psychological $500 level.