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SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -Tesla on Tuesday received the first in a series of approvals from California required for the electric car maker to eventually launch a promised robotaxi service in the state, according to a state regulator.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) said it approved Tesla's application for a transportation charter-party carrier permit (TCP), a license typically associated with chauffeur-operated services, allowing the company to own and control a fleet of vehicles and transport employees on pre-arranged trips.
The permit is a prerequisite for applying to operate an autonomous ride-hailing service in California, but a CPUC spokesperson said the current permit "does not authorize them to provide rides" in autonomous vehicles, and does not allow Tesla to operate a ride-hailing service to the public.
With sales growth slowing, Tesla CEO Elon Musk pivoted his focus last year to rolling out robotaxis and has promised driverless ride-hailing services to the public in California and Texas this year. In October, Tesla revealed the Cybercab, a robotaxi concept that had no steering wheel or control pedals.
Tesla had applied for the TCP permit in November 2024, the regulator said in an email, adding that the company had not applied for the other permits yet.
Tesla would also need permits from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and CPUC in order to operate a fully autonomous robotaxi service that charges customers.
Tesla currently only has a DMV permit to test autonomous vehicles with a safety driver.
A DMV spokesperson said on Tuesday that Tesla has not applied for any additional permits from the agency, which would be required to move forward with a CPUC application for driverless taxis.
Tesla did not respond to requests for comments on the permit and details on the other applications.
(Reporting by Chris Kirkham in Los Angeles and Abhirup Roy in San Francisco; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Marguerita Choy)
