The state Department of Transportation has granted Tesla a permit to operate a ride-hailing service in Arizona. ADOT stated in an emailed statement that the electric vehicle company submitted for a “transportation network company” permit on November 13, which was approved on Monday.
Meanwhile, Tesla will have to obtain additional permits before it can use a robotaxi service in Arizona. Tesla had submitted a request to carry out autonomous vehicle testing and vehicle operations in Phoenix, with and without human safety drivers aboard, in July.
In the previous month, Tesla had initiated a pilot of robotaxi in Austin, Texas, which had safety valets and remote operators. Similarly, Tesla also operates a more conventional car service in the San Francisco Bay Area. Tesla did not immediately respond to a comment request.
Tesla intends to remove human safety drivers in its cars in Austin by the end of the year. The firm is looking forward to launching a commercial robotaxi service in Phoenix and some other cities in the United States before the end of 2026.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website indicated that the Tesla cars with automated driving systems have been involved in seven reported crashes after the pilot of the company was launched in Texas.
Other competitors like Alphabet’s Waymo in the U.S. and Baidu’s Apollo Go in China are far ahead of the nascent robotaxi ride-hailing sector.
The company previously informed CNBC that Waymo functions as a huge commercial business, with at least 400 autonomous vehicles in the Phoenix area. Waymo said that it had crossed around 10 million driverless trips served to riders across the U.S.
In an earnings announcement on Tuesday, Baidu added that its Apollo Go service “provided 3.1 million fully driverless operational rides in the third quarter of 2025,” citing 212 percent expansion year-over-year.
However, Elon Musk has been assuring that Tesla will “resolve” autonomy over the years without achieving its targets. During the company’s 2025 shareholder meeting earlier this month, Musk stated that the “killer app” of self-driving technology involved the ability of people to be able to“text and drive,” or “sleep and drive.”
Musk also added that “Before we allow the car to be driven without paying attention, we need to make sure it’s very safe. We’re on the cusp of that. I know I’ve said that a few times. We really are at this point.”
