Tesla seeks Robotaxi permits in California and Arizona, expands in Texas

Musk posted on his Platform X that the Tesla Robotaxis will be launched “probably in a month or two” in the San Francisco Bay Area in California, provided the company is granted the relevant regulatory approvals. Bloomberg reports that Tesla has told California Department of Motor Vehicles officials that it is planning to introduce autonomous vehicle services in phases, the first of which will give employees pre-arranged rides using a safety driver.

There are also plans to expand the service area in Austin/Texas, this weekend, without Tesla giving further specifics. The company launched its “Robotaxi” service in Austin, Texas, on a small scale on 22 June this year. Since then, up to 20 Model Ys have been used that operate in a small part of the city and have a passenger on board as a “safety supervisor”. The Cybercab intended for this service will apparently follow later. At the launch, Musk claimed that the fleet will increase to more than 1,000 vehicles in a few months, including offshoots in other cities. Those offshoots now seem to be emerging.

In addition to its Californian Robotaxi ambitions, Tesla has Arizona in its sights. Bloomberg has reported that Tesla also contacted the Arizona Department of Transportation to begin the certification process for autonomous ride sharing there, while Tesla has not yet commented on the matter.

Tesla’s autonomous vehicle claims in the past have led to pushback. In France, just last month, authorities ordered Tesla to cease deceptive commercial practices within four months or face a daily fine of €50,000. The decision follows an investigation into misleading claims around full self-driving capabilities, option availability and contract clarity.

Investors are closely watching for robotaxi expansion, writes Bloomberg – but rollout could be “complicated” by regulatory hurdles, technological limitations or traffic incidents. The controversy-mired carmaker has a significant incentive to move forward with haste – Bloomberg cited Alexander Potter, an analyst with Piper Sandler, as saying, “The faster this roll-out progresses (without major accidents), the better it will be” (for Tesla’s stock).

Other indicators have improved Tesla’s stock but simultaneously added more scepticism to Tesla’s Robotaxi quality. Musk also recently posted on his own social media platform X that Grok, the chatbot developed by his startup xAI, will be coming to Tesla vehicles “next week at the latest.” This announcement came simultaneously with revelations reported across US media that the Grok artificial intelligence was spouting antisemitic posts on the platform, which X and Musk hastily removed.

Tesla’s credibility is further hampered by its CEO’s long track record of announcing timelines for autonomous-driving ambitions that the company then fails to meet. Tesla has stiff competition in the US autonomous taxi market, mostly from Waymo, which has rolled out services across several US states. But Waymo has had its own fair share of setbacks, recently having to recall 1,212 self-driving vehicles in the US following minor collisions with fixed roadside objects such as gates and chains.

bloomberg.com (paywall)