Nevada Approves Tesla to Operate 5,000 Driverless Taxis in Las Vegas

The Nevada Department of Transportation has authorized Tesla to operate a fleet of up to 5,000 driverless taxis, known as robotaxis, in Clark County, which includes Las Vegas. This approval follows a similar permit granted by Texas in May, allowing Tesla to run commercial autonomous ride services in cities such as Austin, Dallas, and Houston. Despite recent negative reports about Tesla vehicle recalls in China, Tesla's stock rose 5% following the announcement.

Alongside Tesla, Nevada also approved permits for Uber and Google's Waymo to operate 1,000 autonomous vehicles each, significantly expanding the number of self-driving cars allowed in the state. The permits correspond to SAE Level 4 autonomy, which permits fully driverless commercial operation within predefined geographic zones without a human safety driver. A future upgrade to Level 5 autonomy would allow fully autonomous driving anywhere, anytime, and in all weather conditions.

Tesla's Chief Engineer for the Cybercab project, Eric Arlie, clarified that the 5,000 vehicle limit is a maximum cap and that Tesla does not plan to deploy that many vehicles immediately. He indicated that Tesla aims to have around 2,500 vehicles operational within the next year. The Texas approval was based on a "self-certification" law requiring companies to meet strict safety and insurance standards before operating autonomous vehicles commercially.

Tesla is already running autonomous taxis in major Texas cities, and the Nevada permit marks a significant step toward expanding driverless taxi services in the U.S. market, potentially paving the way for similar services in other regions, including Israel in the future.