AUSTIN, Texas — Tesla has cleared its most important regulatory hurdle yet in the desert. Nevada's Transportation Authority voted unanimously on Thursday to grant Tesla a commercial robotaxi permit covering Clark County, home to Las Vegas, authorizing the company to run driverless cars that pick up paying passengers with no one behind the wheel.
The approval allows Tesla to operate up to 5,000 fully autonomous vehicles in its first year — the largest single allocation among the three companies cleared in the same session. Alphabet's Waymo and Uber each received authorization for up to 1,000 vehicles, bringing the combined ceiling to roughly 7,000 to 8,000 driverless cars across the county over the next 12 months. It is one of the broadest robotaxi authorizations granted anywhere in the United States. Tesla, which has been steadily expanding public access to its autonomous fleet, now has a clear runway into one of the country's busiest tourist markets.
From Ten Cars to Thousands
The vote marks a dramatic expansion from where Tesla stood just weeks ago. When the company first applied in early June, regulators granted only ten vehicles under an interim order that confined Tesla to a geofenced stretch of the Las Vegas Strip, capped speeds at 45 miles per hour and required human supervision. Thursday's decision replaces that cautious framework with a full commercial permit, eleven weeks after the original filing.
Eric Early, Tesla's Cybercab chief engineer, told the commission the 5,000 figure is a ceiling rather than a target. He said Tesla would be extremely happy to reach roughly 2,500 vehicles within the first year, framing the constraint as operational — scaling maintenance, charging, insurance and inspections — rather than technological.
