According to foreign media reports, on March 18, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved Tesla’s online ride-hailing service license application, which allows the company to own and manage a fleet and transport employees on pre-arranged itineraries.
It is reported that the electric car maker needs to obtain a series of approvals to launch the driverless taxi service promised in California, and Tesla has approved the first license this time.
The license is just a prerequisite for applying to operate a self-driving online ride-hailing service in California. A spokesman for the California Public Utilities Commission said the current license “does not authorize Tesla to use self-driving vehicles to provide passenger services” and does not allow Tesla to operate a self-driving service to the public.
California regulators said in an email that Tesla applied for a ride-hailing operator license in November 2024, adding that the company has not yet applied for another license.
It is reported that Tesla needs to obtain further permission from the California Motor Vehicle Administration (DMV) and the California Public Utilities Commission if it wants to operate a fully autonomous taxi service that charges customers.
Currently, Tesla only holds a license issued by the California Motor Vehicle Administration to test autonomous vehicles with safe drivers.
A spokesman for the California Motor Vehicle Administration said on March 18 that Tesla has not yet applied for any additional license from the agency, but to apply for driverless taxi services from the California Public Utilities Commission, a DMV license is essential.
Tesla did not respond to the details of the report and other applications.
Tesla CEO Musk will shift his focus to the launch of driverless taxis in 2024, as auto sales growth slows, and has promised to launch driverless ride-hailing services to the public this year in California and Texas. In October 2024, Tesla showed off the Cybercab, a robot taxi concept model without a steering wheel and control pedal.
In January this year, Musk also said that Tesla will start providing “paid self-driving online ride-hailing services” in Austin, Texas in June this year.