Tesla has applied to test and operate autonomous vehicles in Arizona in a bid to bring its fledgling robotaxi service to the Metro Phoenix area, the state’s Department of Transportation confirmed to News.
Tesla contacted the Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) under the Arizona Department of Transportation on June 26 to begin the certification process, a spokesperson said in an emailed statement. The company, which launched a limited robotaxi service in South Austin last month, expressed interest in operating within the Phoenix Metro area, according to the department.
Tesla has applied for both autonomous vehicle testing and operating with a driver and testing/operating without a driver. A decision is expected at the end of the month, the DOT MVD spokesperson said. The company’s contact with the state’s DOT was first revealed by Tesla influencer Sawyer Merritt earlier on Thursday.
Tesla’s reach-out came from Casey Blaine, the company’s senior regulatory counsel, and she has already held a virtual meeting with the state’s DOT as well as with Arizona’s Commerce Authority, according to emails obtained by News through a records request.
Those conversations are in the preliminary stages, according to the emails, with Blaine asking a DOT representative to introduce him to Maricopa County government and law enforcement officials ahead of any launch. Blaine did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tesla launched in June a limited robotaxi service in South Austin that is currently open only to people the company invites. But CEO Elon Musk wrote Thursday on his social media platform X that Tesla plans to expand that service farther into the city soon. He also said Tesla is waiting on regulatory approvals to launch robotaxis in the Bay Area, which he said will happen in a “month or two.”
Musk’s robotaxi ambitions may bump up against regulatory reality, at least in California. Arizona, California, and Texas — all states Musk wants to see Tesla robotaxis — have different requirements.
In California, companies that want to test and eventually deploy autonomous vehicles have to receive a series of different permits from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Those permits cover the various stages of testing autonomous vehicles with and without a human safety operator behind the wheel, and eventually deploying a driverless vehicle. However, companies that want to operate a robotaxi service must also receive permits from the California Public Utilities Commission.
A California DMV spokesperson said in an emailed statement that Tesla has held an autonomous vehicle testing permit for public road testing with a safety driver since 2014.
“If Tesla intends to conduct driverless testing or deploy autonomous technology, it must apply for the appropriate permit,” the CA DMV statement reads. “To date, Tesla has not applied for either a driverless testing or deployment permit.”
The process in Arizona isn’t as arduous, although there are steps to navigate.
Under Arizona statute, autonomous vehicle companies are required to follow a self-certification process for either testing with or without a driver, as outlined on the ADOT website.
This doesn’t mean Tesla — or any AV company that completes the self-certification process — can operate a robotaxi service that charges for rides. Any company that wants to operate a ride-hailing service, human or robot driven, must apply for a Transportation Network Company permit.
Waymo, the Alphabet-owned autonomous vehicle company, operates a driverless robotaxi service in about 315 square miles of the Metro Phoenix area, which includes downtown, Tempe, Scottsdale, Chandler, parts of Mesa, and trips to and from the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. The company recently launched a new program that allows teens, with parental permission, to hail robotaxis in Phoenix.
Waymo holds the appropriate AV and TNC permits in Arizona. The company also has all of the required permits to deploy and operate a robotaxi service in Los Angeles and the Bay Area, along with numerous Silicon Valley cities, in California. Waymo also operates a robotaxi service in partnership with Uber in Austin and Atlanta.
