Tesla Stock (NASDAQ:TSLA) Gains as FSD v14.1 Lite Emerges

There is no doubt that electric vehicle giant Tesla (TSLA) has a winner with its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system. And though not every Tesla can run FSD, the Lite version seems to be delivering wins on its own. The newest version of FSD Lite emerged, and delivered some of its own wins, including fixing problems from the old version. The news was welcome enough to investors, though, as Tesla shares gained fractionally in Tuesday afternoon's trading.

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Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) system is a valuable component of Tesla releases, though it has cost Tesla some support, especially with the revelation that earlier Teslas would never be able to run the full version without significant upgrades. And the appearance of FSD v14.1 Lite has helped address one critical issue: computer overheating.

Reports suggest that v14 Lite caused Hardware 3 (HW3) cars—the ones that Lite versions of FSD were created for—to overheat. That was a big problem by itself, but not the only problem, as v14 Lite had a tendency to engage in so-called "brake stabbing." Brake stabbing is normally an emergency technique for cars without anti-lock braking systems, in which the driver brakes until the wheels lock up, then lets off the brake to repeat the process. The new v14.1, meanwhile, looks to address brake stabbing as well as false-braking, the unexpected application of brakes for no clear reason.

Mounting Recall Issues

Excessively bright low-beam headlights may sound like the most minor of issues, but it turns out that this is a larger problem than you might expect. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) noted that the headlights could raise the risk of a crash by possibly reducing visibility for oncoming drivers.

The recall is limited to Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, and no remedy for the headlight issue is currently available. Regardless, this actually comes at a bad time for Tesla, as it has recently found itself under greater scrutiny by regulators over much larger issues like suspension failure. It is one thing to issue a recall over one issue, but when multiple recalls start to hit, that can represent a potential failure of image. Customers could go elsewhere, and Tesla does not need lost customers right now.

Is Tesla a Buy, Hold or Sell?

Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on TSLA stock based on 10 Buys, 15 Holds, and three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 2.92% loss in its share price over the past year, the average TSLA price target of $377.43 per share implies 13.71% upside potential.