In this article, we will discuss: 11 Best Self-Driving Car Stocks to Buy According to Analysts.
The term “self-driving car stocks” describes publicly traded businesses engaged in creating, manufacturing, or using autonomous vehicle technology. These businesses either directly contribute to the development of self-driving systems or offer crucial parts and services to the autonomous driving industry.
The autonomous vehicle market is booming. Grand View Research estimates that the global market for autonomous vehicles was worth $68.09 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.9% from 2025 to 2030. The industry is driven by the significant demand for tech adoption by customers, road safety, connectivity, advancements in AI, and sensor technology. In 2024, the passenger vehicle segment led the industry and accounted for 69% of the global revenue. The North American autonomous vehicle market dominated the global market with a share of over 37.1% in 2024.
On the other hand, according to Goldman Sachs Research, Level 3 autonomous cars, which permit hands-off, eyes-off driving in some situations, might make up as much as 10% of new cars sold globally by 2030, down from a previous estimate of 12%. It is anticipated that level 4 fully autonomous vehicles will account for 2.5% of sales, up from 3.5% in the past. Vehicles classified as Level 2 and Level 2+, which need to be supervised, are projected to rise from 20% at present to 30% by 2027. Adoption is expected to speed up due to AI advancements and declining hardware prices, notwithstanding delays caused by technological, legislative, and business model obstacles. By 2030, a market for robotaxis valued at over $25 billion would develop, driven by commercial AV fleets. By 2030, the cost of an AV mile might be less than $1, and by 2040, it could be $0.58. Long-term, AVs may account for 60% of new light vehicle sales worldwide by 2040, with China dominating (90%), followed by Europe (80%), and the United States (65%).
As per S&P Global’s report, the industry’s focus on self-driving cars has changed from lofty Level 5 autonomy to practical, incremental applications. Tech firms and manufacturers came together at CES 2025 with realistic objectives, especially in the area of Level 4 autonomy. Companies increasingly prefer deployable technology, such as ride-hailing services and automated shuttles, above completely autonomous personal vehicles. Leading this shift is Waymo, which reports more than 4 million trips overall and 150,000 paid rides weekly. It displayed new Hyundai and Zeekr automobiles, growing its business in additional American cities and adjusting to local laws. These actions show ride-hailing’s scalability in light of the present limitations.
Meanwhile, conventional automakers showcased autonomous shuttle concepts, while Level 2+ and Level 3 ADAS systems continue to be used in consumer vehicles. As startups with specialized inventions, like AI chips or sensor software, work with larger companies that have the resources and manufacturing capacity, partnerships are growing. Smaller players struggle to operate on their own because of high R&D expenses and regulatory complexity. As the market transitions from hype to practical implementation, Level 4 geo-fenced applications and delivery systems are expected to be the next big thing. The autonomous future is increasingly defined by gradual, cooperative progress rather than disruptive leaps.
With that said, here are the 11 Best Self-Driving Car Stocks to Buy According to Analysts.
Methodology
For this list, we thoroughly reviewed reputable sources and compiled an initial list of 20 self-driving stocks. Then we selected the 11 stocks that had the highest upside potential as of April 22, 2025. We have only included stocks in our list with an upside potential of 14% or higher. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of the upside potential.
Note: Not every company included in the list is solely focused on self-driving technology. Some of the stocks highlighted below are involved indirectly by investing in businesses that specialize in autonomous driving.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points. (see more details here).
11. Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)
Analysts’ Upside Potential as of April 22: 14.16%
Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) has accelerated the electric vehicle revolution. Autopilot is an advanced driver-assist system that comes standard on all Teslas. It has adaptive cruise control and auto-steer to maintain the vehicle in its lane. Even with the many additional features included in the company’s Full Self-Driving upgrade package, a driver must remain vigilant and prepared to operate a vehicle. FSD Beta, a restricted test among some FSD system users, aims to expand these features by adding city street auto-steering and autopilot navigation. The stock surged by more than 60% in the past year, making it among the Best Autonomous Driving Stocks.
The company is trying to create self-driving technology without lidar, or “light detection and ranging,” which is essentially the use of lasers to help a car map out its surroundings, in contrast to the majority of vehicle manufacturers. Instead, Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s focus is on computer vision research, which enables a computer system to see and use cameras to make decisions.
The firm is constructing supercomputers known as “Dojo” to help improve its AI algorithms. The business has made hints that it may permit Dojo to be used by other self-driving car developers. Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) intends to expand its Dojo computer network. These supercomputers do, however, consume a lot of power. More than two megawatts of power may be consumed by a complete Dojo system. To put that level of power consumption into perspective, hundreds of residential homes may usually be powered by a single megawatt.
After quarterly reports, Wedbush maintained its Outperform rating on the shares and increased its price objective for Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) from $315 to $350. As Q1 results concluded a disastrous period in which deliveries were extremely soft and the business missed the Street on nearly every metric, the company claims that “last night was a pivotal conference call for Musk to turn the corner from this dark chapter.” More significant than the numbers, Wedbush claims that Musk had the opportunity to change course, address shareholders and staff, depart from the DOGE/Trump White House, and reaffirm his role as CEO of the company. He did so “loudly and clearly” during a conference call that the company considers a turning point in its history.
10. General Motors Company (NASDAQ:GM)
Analysts’ Upside Potential as of April 22: 18.81%
General Motors Company (NASDAQ:GM) is a legacy automaker and one of the oldest companies still operating. The firm purchased Cruise, a pioneer in autonomous vehicle technology, back in 2016. It was hoping to see its Cruise Origin autonomous cab become fully operational by 2023. That was temporary, though, as following a string of incidents, the Cruise unit terminated operations in October 2023. In May 2024, it put its vehicles back on public roads. However, the business completely stopped supporting its Cruise autonomous car division in December 2024, citing the time and resources needed to expand the business as well as problems in the competitive robotaxi market.
Despite the closure of the Cruise division, General Motors Company (NASDAQ:GM) is concentrating on creating autonomous and driver-assist technologies for private automobiles, which makes it one of the Best Autonomous Driving Stocks. These devices will also be able to drive autonomously in certain scenarios. It intends to include Cruise technology in its hands-free driving aid, Super Cruise. The future of driverless technology may be significantly impacted by the firm’s commitment to directing those resources into cutting-edge driver assistance systems, even if the company is no longer funding its autonomous driving division and has spent billions on a now-defunct unit.
Hotchkis & Wiley Large Cap Fundamental Value Fund stated the following regarding General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) reported strong Q3 earnings results and improved free cash flow guidance. We like GM for many reasons. First, we believe GM has leading market positions in its main business segments. Second, the valuation is extremely attractive. Finally, we believe it is a strong free cash flow generator, and the management team is committed to repurchasing their undervalued shares.”
9. Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER)
Analysts’ Upside Potential as of April 22: 19.82%
Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) runs one of the top platforms for ridesharing and delivery services. It offers autonomous Uber trips in cities including Las Vegas and Phoenix in collaboration with Waymo, Motional, Cruise, and other AV market players. In 2025, the company expects to extend to Atlanta and Austin. The firm could consider relying more on autonomous vehicles to reduce its reliance on its sizable, costly fleet of independent contractors, which might lower labor expenses and regulatory issues. It is ranked ninth on our list of the Best Autonomous Driving Stocks.
Despite challenges including currency headwinds and short-term losses, Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER)’s fourth-quarter performance is strong. A larger user base and more frequent travel led to an 18% increase in gross bookings year over year, which in turn led to a 21% jump in revenue. Bookings in the mobility industry grew by 24%, showing the viability of its business strategy. These outcomes show its consistent performance and operational resilience in the face of external obstacles.
By 2027, the management anticipates a nearly 50% increase in free cash flow. Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) is one of the most alluring investments in the services market right now because of its low capital intensity, resilience to recessions, and scalable worldwide platform.
8. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Analysts’ Upside Potential as of April 22: 27.03%
One of the leading companies in the self-driving car space and Best Autonomous Driving Stocks is Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), the parent company of Google. The key to self-driving automobiles is data, specifically the use of road data to teach an artificial intelligence system how to drive a car. Google has a clear advantage in this regard due to its extensive index of online information. All types of businesses utilize Google Cloud, a subsidiary, to manage autonomous car design and manufacture, train self-driving AI algorithms, and handle vehicle software updates.
The leading autonomous car startup, Waymo, has invested in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG). Google has been funding Waymo’s research and development for years with its wildly successful online advertising company. Waymo is developing its “Waymo Driver” system for use as an autonomous ride-hailing service (Waymo One) and a heavy freight and delivery solution (Waymo Via).
Waymo’s autonomous vehicles are currently operating in Austin, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. In its service zones, Waymo One, the company’s self-driving ride-hailing service, is open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. As of right now, Waymo has about 700 autonomous vehicles on the road; since 2019, the fleet has traveled over 20 million miles.
Merion Road Capital Management stated the following regarding Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:
“The long only portfolio fell slightly over 8% during the quarter, primarily attributable to our tech-oriented holdings (GOOG, AMZN) and economically sensitive industrials (CLH, FERG). Regarding the former, there continues to be a debate as to whether or not their investments in AI will produce adequate returns. The AI race publicly began back in 2023 when Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella threw the gauntlet down stating that he hopes GOOG would “come out and show that they can dance.” In response, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) ramped their capex spend from $32bn in 2023 to almost $53bn last year, with a planned $75bn this year. So far, their pre-tax return on tangible capital has barely budged at 48% (though consensus has this falling next year). With a wide range of ubiquitous products, GOOG is as well positioned as anyone to win the war. For instance, the integration of AI overviews into search has produced strong metrics and the company is broadening its application to encompass novel query formats, including images and audio.
But will all of this investment generate an acceptable return? I don’t know. And it will be many years before we have an answer. CEO Pichai’s philosophy is that the cost of missing out on what could be a generational opportunity far outweighs the benefits of conserving its cash. This makes sense to me. Even if GOOG burns the majority of their free cash flow over the next couple years, that’s a drop in the bucket. The value in the business comes from the long tail of earnings from things like Search, Youtube, Cloud, and hopefully some of their moonshots (I’m looking at you Waymo). If AI returns disappoint, I believe GOOG will scale back.”
7. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Analysts’ Upside Potential as of April 22: 31.58%
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is one of the top developers and suppliers of support software, services, devices, and solutions. The business continues to grow through its notable progress in cloud services, such as Azure AI and Copilot, and artificial intelligence.
The firm is collaborating with several top automakers to expedite automation advancements. Wayve, a London-based startup pioneering deep learning for autonomous vehicles, and Wejo Group Limited, a leader in linked vehicle data, are two well-known partners of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). It is among the Best Autonomous Driving Stocks.
Shares underperformed in the first quarter of 2025 as Azure revenue growth fell short of analyst projections, which was the third quarter in a row that this segment saw some degree of disappointment. Nonetheless, sales growth tied to AI surpassed projections and accounted for 13% of Azure’s quarterly growth. In addition, management highlighted increased operating profitability and reduced tax rates while maintaining their fiscal third-quarter earnings estimate. Analysts are still optimistic that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) can maintain its position as the industry leader in AI, even after a challenging quarter.
The firm’s cloud sales topped $40 billion in the second quarter of 2025, a 21% year-over-year growth that shows the company’s sustained dominance in cloud services. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s AI division has also experienced remarkable expansion, with a yearly revenue run rate of nearly $13 billion, up 175% from the previous year, due to the extensive enterprise deployments of AI technologies. Commercial bookings also hit a record high, rising 67% overall, or 75% in constant currency. This was mostly due to OpenAI’s significant Azure commitments, which significantly exceeded projections.
6. Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU)
Analysts’ Upside Potential as of April 22: 31.62%
Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) is the biggest internet search engine in China, holding a market share of more than 50% in 2024. In 2023, the company’s search engine’s online marketing services accounted for 72% of its main income. Apart from its search engine, the firm is a tech-driven business with significant expansion plans in the areas of speech recognition, video streaming, cloud artificial intelligence, and autonomous driving. The stock surged by more than 8% YTD, which makes it one of the Best Autonomous Driving Stocks.
In Q4 2024, Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU)’s AI Cloud division reported a 26% year-over-year revenue rise, helping to propel the company’s overall growth to 17%. Revenue from GenAI nearly tripled in comparison to the year prior. In December 2024, ERNIE, its fundamental model, handled about 1.65 billion API calls per day, with external API usage rising by 178% quarterly.
The Apollo Go robotaxi service grew dramatically, attaining 100% completely driverless operations countrywide and delivering almost 1.1 million rides in Q4 with a 36% surge year over year. AI-generated content was included in 22% of search result pages, and in December, the number of daily search queries per user jumped by 2% year over year, highlighting Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU)’s ongoing integration of AI into its search business.
5. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Analysts’ Upside Potential as of April 22: 34.93%
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is much more than just a massive online retailer. The actual reason that makes the firm a very successful digital giant is Amazon Web Services, the pioneer of public cloud computing. As with other cloud platforms, Amazon Web Services includes a self-driving car segment that assists manufacturers and other vehicle innovators in managing their autonomous driving data. It is ranked fifth on our list of the Best Autonomous Driving Stocks.
In 2020, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) purchased the autonomous ride-hailing startup Zoox, which it now owns. Driverless taxis are anticipated to be introduced by Zoox in Las Vegas in 2025. Moreover, businesses like Tier IV, an autonomous driving start-up, use AWS (Amazon Web Services) to create driverless cars. The cloud-based infrastructure and computational power needed by Tier IV to run simulations and machine learning to assist its development processes are made possible by AWS.
The company runs a massive logistics and delivery company and is the world leader in e-commerce. Transportation automation may be a game-changer in the long run, making the retail division of the company much more profitable and efficient. Beyond robotaxis and other consumer-facing automotive technologies, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) clearly sees value in developing vehicle autonomy.
Harding Loevner Global Developed Markets Equity Strategy stated the following regarding Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“During the quarter, we benefited from strong stocks within the Communication Services and Consumer Discretionary sectors. In Consumer Discretionary, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) reported strong third-quarter results. Revenue increased by double digits, led by growth in advertising and Al products, while the company’s operating margins also hit an all-time high of 11%. The key reasons for the higher margins were that its international e-commerce operations turned profitable, and there was faster growth in its high-margin cloud-computing business.”
4. Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ:AUR)
Analysts’ Upside Potential as of April 22: 36.27%
Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ:AUR) provides self-driving technology in a safe, efficient, and widely accessible manner. The Aurora Driver is a self-driving system that can drive a variety of vehicles, including ride-hailing passenger cars and freight-hauling trucks. It serves as the foundation for its transportation and ride-hailing driver-as-a-service offerings, Aurora Horizon and Aurora Connect. The company is working on the Aurora Driver, an innovative and expandable set of data services, software, and hardware for self-driving cars that can be used as a platform to adapt to and work with different kinds of vehicles and applications. Hence, it is one of the Best Autonomous Driving Stocks.
Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ:AUR) plans to commercially introduce its self-driving technology, beginning with the Dallas to Houston route. The firm claims that its vehicles achieved an Autonomy Readiness Measure score of 99% throughout rigorous testing, which included lengthy travels. The degree to which the business’s self-driving system is prepared to drive trucks on its own is measured by the ARM score. Regarding finances, the business anticipates making mid-single-digit million dollars this year. Additionally, the business aims to generate a gross profit in 2026.
TD Cowen increased Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ:AUR)’s price objective from $4 to $5. When management released the initial 2025 revenue projection of mid-single-digit millions, the company revised its model in response to Q4 results.
3. QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)
Analysts’ Upside Potential as of April 22: 40.22%
QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) is well-known for producing electronic components that are present in practically all smartphones. Nonetheless, the firm’s expertise in mobility chips is reviving in the auto industry. The Snapdragon Digital Chassis is a complete platform that drives ADAS, computing, and vehicle communication.
QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) recently purchased Arriver, a self-driving car software company that was previously part of auto supplier Veoneer, to help hasten the development of a vehicle autonomy platform, making it one of the Best Autonomous Driving Stocks.
The company achieved remarkable achievements in fiscal Q1 2025, as revenue grew to $11.7 billion, a 17.6% rise over the same time the previous year. This set a new record for QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) and was the third consecutive quarter of double-digit sales growth. The QCT business, which comprises core chip activities, generated $10.1 billion, a 20% jump from the previous year. Notable factors that contributed to this gain were the 61% increase in automotive revenue to $961 million, the 36% gain in IoT-related sales to $1.5 billion, and the 13% surge in smartphone chip sales to $7.6 billion.
At the end of the quarter, the company’s cash and cash equivalents were over $3.1 billion. Furthermore, it generated operating cash flow of almost $4.6 billion and paid dividends to stockholders of $942 million. For the past 21 years, the firm has been paying out increasing dividends to its stockholders.
2. Mobileye Global Inc. (NASDAQ:MBLY)
Analysts’ Upside Potential as of April 22: 60.93%
Mobileye Global Inc. (NASDAQ:MBLY) develops and implements autonomous driving and ADAS technology and solutions. Through the use of a wide range of specialized hardware and software technologies, it is developing a portfolio of end-to-end ADAS and autonomous driving solutions to offer the capabilities required for the future of autonomous driving. Mobileye and Others are the company’s reportable operating segments. Its offerings include Self-Driving System & Vehicles, Mobileye SuperVision Lite, Mobileye Supervision, Mobileye Chauffeur, Mobileye Drive, and Cloud-Enhanced Driver Assist. The Mobileye Segment generates the most revenue for the business. It is ranked second on our list of the Best Autonomous Driving Stocks.
John Murphy, an analyst at Bank of America, boosted the stock price objective for Mobileye Global Inc. (NASDAQ:MBLY) from $12 to $19 on February 10th, upgrading the company from “Underperform” to “Neutral.” According to the firm, there is no negative risk to projections even though 2025 guidance is still below consensus estimates. Potential 2025 catalysts were noted by the analyst based on contract wins with multiple automakers in the latter phases of contract negotiations for its autonomous driving technologies, Surround advanced driver-assistance systems, and AI-powered SuperVision system.
Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund stated the following regarding Mobileye Global Inc. (NASDAQ:MBLY) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“During the quarter, we also bought back our shares in Mobileye Global Inc. (NASDAQ:MBLY), a leading provider of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving technologies for the automotive industry. Last year was a particularly challenging year for the company, as it was impacted by cyclical headwinds due to inventory build-up as well as market share losses in China. We believe the company is making progress in its advanced solution portfolio. We were encouraged that the Volkswagen Group signed contracts for 18 different models across brands such as Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, and Porsche. We maintain our belief that the autonomous vehicle market is substantial and strategically important. Despite recent challenges, we believe that Mobileye can be a key supplier as the market matures and the undemanding valuation creates an attractive risk/reward for long-term investors.”
1. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)
Analysts’ Upside Potential as of April 22: 63.26%
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is a semiconductor company that creates mobile processors and graphics cards for use in workstations, wireless devices, and personal computers. The fundamental components of all computer systems, including those used in self-driving cars, are semiconductors. Thus, it is the Best Autonomous Driving Stock.
Through its DRIVE platform, the firm also provides a variety of end-to-end AV solutions, encompassing in-car AV hardware and software as well as artificial intelligence infrastructure. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is a multifaceted AV technology player. Before Tesla decided to create its own self-driving chips using Samsung’s design and manufacturing platform, the company was a strategic partner of Tesla for many years.
Mizuho Securities kept its “Outperform” rating on NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) with a price objective of $168 as of April 16. This reaffirmation comes after the company disclosed additional export limitations imposed by the US government in its most recent 8-K filing. Shipments of its H20 series products to China, including Hong Kong, and other nations subject to US arms embargoes will be impacted by these limitations. A substantial amount of the expected $16 billion in H20 orders, or about $5.5 billion in revenue, may be impacted by these new laws, according to the firm. This suggests that over $10 billion in merchandise may have already been sent for the calendar year 2025.
Mizuho analysts are upbeat about the firm’s near-term prospects despite the difficulties caused by the export restrictions, particularly with the shipment of the GB200 series and expanded testing capacity for more sophisticated GPU racks. As a crucial consideration for investors, the analysts also emphasized the company’s long-term capital investment in AI for the year 2026. The business has the potential to take on massive markets such as the $50 trillion robotics market, the $500 billion enterprise AI sector, and the $1 trillion+ AI market.
Overall, NVDA ranks first among the 11 Best Self-Driving Car Stocks to Buy According to Analysts. While we acknowledge the potential of self-driving car companies, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than NVDA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stock To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.
Disclosure: None. Insider Monkey focuses on uncovering the best investment ideas of hedge funds and insiders. Please subscribe to our free daily e-newsletter to get the latest investment ideas from hedge funds’ investor letters by entering your email address below.