01:24 PM EST, 11/18/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Shares of Tesla (TSLA) climbed intraday Monday amid reports that the incoming Trump administration may be considering a federal framework for autonomous vehicles in a move that RBC Capital Markets said could benefit the electric vehicle maker's robotaxi plan.

The new administration could make it easier for companies to more widely deploy cars without steering wheels and pedals, according to a Bloomberg report. Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk was a key campaigner for President-elect Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.

Tesla initially planned to roll out unsupervised full self-driving, or FSD, for Model 3/Y in 2025 that would still have pedals and steering wheels, according to RBC's research report. Tesla's Cybercab, unveiled in October, would not have pedals and steering wheels, while Tesla planned to produce and scale it starting in 2027.

The Tesla robotaxi accounts for about 44% of RBC's valuation on Tesla. Federal deregulation on autonomous vehicles "would be a positive for Tesla shares," RBC analyst Tom Narayan wrote in a note emailed Monday.

A federal policy potentially allowing cars without pedals or steering wheels to be on roads "is a critical step in the evolution of (autonomous vehicles) and in particular, for robotaxis, as it reduces key cost items," Narayan said. Vehicles equipped with FSD, a driver assistance software, account for another 33% of RBC's valuation on Tesla's stock.

Shares of Tesla soared 7.3% in midday trade on Monday. RBC has an outperform rating with a $313 price target, which it raised last month from $249. Shares of ride-hailing platforms Uber Technologies ( UBER ) and Lyft ( LYFT ) fell 7.2% and 4.7%, respectively.

Tesla has "a ways to go to prove that its camera based system will ultimately work with limited interventions," Narayan said.

"We still believe that last week's press surrounding the new administration's proposed attempts to eliminate the $7,500 credit for new EV purchases would be a net negative to Tesla," he said. "Given that autonomy is a much bigger driver of valuation versus cars, we think federal deregulation on AVs would be a bigger positive than eliminating the $7,500 credit would be."

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