However, two agencies overseeing the regulation of autonomous taxi services have stated that they have not yet received Tesla's relevant application plans.
Companies operating autonomous taxi services need to obtain at least two permits: an Autonomous Vehicle Testing Permit issued by the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and an Operating Permit issued by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).
However, Tesla currently holds only the lowest-level Autonomous Vehicle Testing Permit from the California DMV, which only allows testing with a human safety driver present.
Industry insiders suggest that Tesla may need more time to obtain the permit for operating autonomous taxi services, and approval may even be uncertain.
This is because Tesla's approach to developing autonomous driving technology differs from companies like Waymo, relying more on its existing suite of driver-assist systems rather than expensive sensors like LiDAR.
Currently, Tesla has not unveiled car technology capable of fully autonomous driving. Their so-called "full self-driving" products still require human drivers to take control of the vehicle at any time.
