driverless

Like it or not, and whether we trust driverless vehicles yet or not, they’re on the way, and the future is coming faster than many investors realize. The driverless vehicle market has enormous growth potential and is projected to be worth trillions of dollars in a decade’s time.

Don’t take it from me: Goldman Sachs Research predicts that robotaxis’ ride-share market alone is on the path for a 90% compound annual growth rate between 2025 and 2030, and that’s merely scratching the surface. If you’re looking to dip your toes into what could be a generational investing opportunity, here are three stocks to keep an eye on.

One way to play robotaxis

Mobileye Global (MBLY -6.56%) is in the business of developing and deploying Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving technologies and solutions. With a comprehensive collection of software and hardware technologies, Mobileye can offer end-to-end products and services for automakers. Investors should look at Mobileye as a solid robotaxi investment for those who don’t want to deal with the drama currently surrounding Tesla.

With the automotive industry heading toward driverless vehicles, Mobileye’s technology and systems will bolster automotive safety, productivity, and vehicle utilization through solutions such as Supervision, Chauffeur, Drive, and EyeQ. Meanwhile, management has been working hard to secure new ADAS deals with large customers, while finding new opportunities with untapped clients. One driving force for the company is a growing adoption of multicamera setups due to the need for increased safety and a push toward hands-free highway driving.

Adding to Mobileye’s growth is its strategic partnerships, including ZEEKR, using Mobileye as its launch partner for its ADAS, and its design wins with automakers such as Porsche and Mahindra, among other major OEMs. Just this spring, Volkswagen announced a collaboration with Mobileye to improve safety and driving comfort for some of its upcoming vehicle pipeline.

The company remains unprofitable, with full-year guidance expecting an operating loss between $436 million to $512 million. That said, Mobileye boasts roughly $1.7 billion in cash and cash equivalents, rising free cash flow, very little debt, and should be able to navigate choppy waters as the industry slowly figures out the path to full autonomous vehicles.

The business of connectivity

Aptiv PLC (APTV -2.47%) is a technology company working to bring the next generation of active safety, autonomous vehicles, smart cities, and connectivity through its decades of experience pioneering advances in the automotive industry.

While the stock has faltered from its all-time highs as electric vehicle hype died down with slower-than-anticipated adoption in the U.S. market, it’s still performing well, with earnings expected to check in at $7.48 per share in 2025, up significantly from $2.61 in 2021 — a compound annual growth rate of 30%.

Image source: Aptiv.

But its growth prospects might improve even more, with the company’s business split on the horizon for the first quarter of 2026. Aptiv plans to split into two companies: one that will focus on slower-growth electrical distribution systems (EDS), and the second on faster-growth safety and software — the latter aimed at a more driverless vehicle focus.

It’s easy to understand the rationale behind the business breakup when you consider the EDS business generated 2024 sales of $8.3 billion at earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) profit margins of 9.5%, while the safety and software generated 2024 sales of $12.2 billion with EBITDA margins nearly double at 18.8%.

The new Aptiv with a focus on safety and software that enable higher levels of autonomous functions won’t be limited to vehicles either, with potential applications for planes and other machines. Aptiv has already begun branching out its overall business with its communications software acquisition of Wind River in 2022.

All things autonomous

Hesai Group (HSAI -11.13%) is a global leader in lidar solutions, with its products enabling a wide range of applications including passenger and commercial vehicles ADAS, autonomous vehicles, robotics, and nonautomotive applications such as last-mile delivery robots.

Throughout the company’s second quarter, Hesai secured a notable number of new design wins through 2026, with 20 models from nine leading OEMs, highlighted by a platform win for multiple 2026 models with one of its top two ADAS customers. The design wins help cement lidar as a standard feature across the specific customer’s model lineups and will drive the company’s order book higher in the near term.

Outside its automotive wins, the company’s robotics business is also doing well, ranking No. 1 in lidar shipments in China for the first half of 2025, per Gaogong Industry Research Institute. Its robotics business is well positioned for the wave of physical artificial intelligence (AI), with lidars becoming essential for AI to perceive and sort the dynamic world we operate in, especially in driverless vehicles.

“In the first six months of 2025, total shipments have already surpassed those of full-year 2024. According to Gasgoo, we ranked first in installation volume among long-range lidar suppliers during this period,” said Hesai cofounder and CEO Yifan “David” Li in a press release.

Are the stocks buys?

The number of robotaxis and driverless vehicles on the roads is set to increase in the coming years, especially as leading autonomous vehicle operators reduce costs and begin scaling the business. Right now, roughly 1,500 such vehicles operate across a handful of U.S. cities, but that figure is expected to soar to about 35,000 across the country in 2030.

Even then, driverless vehicles will represent a fraction of the rideshare market, leaving plenty of long-term growth for investors who believe these companies have injected their technologies and solutions into the industry. Mobileye, Aptiv, and Hesai are all proven companies with products poised to push the boundaries of driverless vehicles, robotaxis, and ADAS going forward, and savvy investors would be wise to keep them on a watch list.

There are a whirlwind of things happening around Tesla (TSLA -1.41%) right now, both good and bad. On the one hand, the company is dealing with a talent exodus with multiple executives leaving, consumer backlash at CEO Elon Musk’s political antics, declining global sales, and an aging vehicle lineup, just to name a few.

On the other hand, the company believes it can be the most valuable company in the world as it transitions from vehicle production to a company based on artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and driverless vehicles. The question remains: Where will Tesla’s stock trade during all of this madness?

Falling behind?

One of the biggest developments for Tesla investors over the summer happened in Austin, Texas, where the company launched its robotaxi pilot. However, three months into its robotaxi pilot with a small number of Model Ys operating, it still requires a safety driver just in case, and it still only operates with invite-only passengers.

Image source: Tesla.

Sure, it was a step forward after the company had long promised such a service, but Tesla is still behind its primary rival, Waymo, which is moving into new cities and doesn’t require a safety driver to supervise its driverless vehicle.

While the slower and smaller initial test may have made investors cautious, Musk remains ambitious. During Tesla’s July 23 earnings call, he noted that the autonomous ride-hailing service would reach across most of the country and “probably” address half the U.S. population by the end of 2025 — lofty targets, to be sure.

No small matter

Make no mistake, this is a huge development for investors and the stakes are high. Tesla’s slow rollout has some onlookers pumping the brakes.

“It’s an acknowledgment that their software isn’t as mature as they thought it was and they’re going to need more time with a safety driver,” said Carnegie Mellon professor Philip Koopman, an expert in autonomous vehicle safety, according to Automotive News. “That’s OK for everyone except the people who invested thinking there’d be a million of these cars on the road by the end of the year,” he said. 

Investors looking for a silver lining might have to squint to see it more clearly, but it’s there. One reason Tesla remains a serious threat to its rivals such as Waymo is because once the autonomous technology and robotaxi become fully autonomous, the automaker can easily produce tons of vehicles from its factories in California and Texas.

Long term, Tesla’s gigafactory production is an advantage. But the company also has a cost advantage over its rivals as it only uses cameras for its self-driving technology, rather than more expensive sensors such as radar and lidar.

Investors also have to keep in mind Tesla may be behind at the moment, but at the same time could make progress faster than its competitors. In fact, if Tesla can change to no safety driver in the next 12 months, that’ll be faster than any other robotaxi company that’s accomplished the feat. For context, Waymo tested for years with safety drivers before going fully autonomous, but that was back in 2020.

What it all means

Tesla’s progress with autonomous vehicles has been slower than desired, but investors should focus on if the company can do it without sensors, and do it effectively. At this point doing it right is much more valuable than doing it faster — that battle may already be over. That said, Tesla has seemingly gone all-in on its future transition from only producing vehicles to becoming an AI, robotics, and robotaxi service company, which could be lucrative if it’s all achieved.

Until then, investors are going to need plenty of patience, especially considering the third quarter is likely to be strong — remember the end of the $7,500 tax credit pulled demand into the third quarter. That should be followed by several rather bumpy quarters for not only Tesla but the broader electric vehicle industry.