Tesla Secures Nevada Approval Required for Robotaxi Testing on Public Roads – iShook Finance

Tesla can now test its robotaxis on public roads in Nevada after the state accepted the company’s required self-certification filing. The approval gives Tesla permission to run autonomous vehicles in supervised testing on Nevada streets.
This does not allow the company to charge for rides yet. For commercial service, Tesla must receive a separate decision from the Nevada Transportation Authority, which has not said when that review will be finished.

The approval is important for Tesla because Nevada is one of the few states that already hosts large-scale testing by autonomous vehicle companies. Major routes in and around Las Vegas are frequently used by tech and transportation firms to validate highway and urban self-driving systems, making the state a strategic testing location. Industry analysts say Nevada’s infrastructure, climate, traffic variability, and long stretches of open highway allow companies to gather data far more quickly than in dense coastal cities.

Tesla already operates its robotaxi service in San Francisco and Austin. In both cities, the company is using specially configured vehicles equipped with its Full Self-Driving software and operational support teams that monitor deployment. Hiring data shows Tesla is preparing to replicate that structure in other regions. The company has posted job openings in Las Vegas, Dallas, Houston, Tampa and Orlando, with positions covering vehicle operations, customer support, local fleet maintenance, and incident response. These openings indicate Tesla is building local teams ahead of each city’s launch rather than operating the service entirely from California or Texas.

During Tesla’s October earnings call, CEO Elon Musk said the company expects to operate autonomous ride-hailing services in Nevada, Florida, and Arizona by the end of the year. Musk estimated that Tesla’s fleet for these markets will exceed 1,000 robotaxis, though he did not specify how many would be allocated to each state. Tesla has not disclosed whether it will roll out the service in stages or begin full operations once regulators approve commercial use.

Earlier this week, Arizona’s Department of Transportation granted Tesla permission to offer ride-hailing services in that state. Officials also confirmed that Tesla filed a separate testing certification that allows autonomous vehicles to operate on public roads with safety drivers. Arizona has become one of the more accessible states for companies seeking to deploy autonomous systems, and several firms — including Waymo and Cruise — have used its regulatory structure to run early-stage commercial programs.

Competition is intensifying nationwide, especially in California. State regulators are updating rules for autonomous ride-hailing, and companies are pushing for different approaches. Waymo, which operates driverless services in San Francisco and Los Angeles, has recommended that companies offering rides be required to submit quarterly operational reports showing ride volumes, service issues, and other data. Tesla has argued against this requirement, saying such reports would create inconsistent expectations across operators and could be interpreted in misleading ways if companies use different measurement standards.

Meanwhile, Amazon’s Zoox has begun offering free robotaxi rides to select users in San Francisco, introducing another competitor in a state already crowded with autonomous vehicle programs. The growing number of operators has also increased pressure on state officials to create rules that balance safety oversight with the ability to scale new services.

Tesla’s stock slipped about 2% on Thursday, though it remains more than 15% higher than a year ago. Investors have been watching each regulatory approval closely because the robotaxi business is one of Tesla’s most important long-term projects. Although the Nevada testing approval does not allow Tesla to operate commercially yet, it removes one of the required steps before the company can launch the service in a major tourist and transportation hub.

Also Read: Tesla Faces Federal Scrutiny for Delayed Self-Driving Crash Reporting