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Just a few weeks after Tesla's robotaxis debuted in Austin, we're getting the first clues about its expansion plans.
Looks like Phoenix and San Francisco are up next, and Tesla has already filed the paperwork for multiple permits in both cities. They are still pending approval.
Tesla first contacted the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) about expanding to the Phoenix metro area on June 26, just four days after the Austin debut. It's applied for two certifications, one for for autonomous vehicle testing with a driver, and one without a driver. "A decision on those is expected at the end of the month," the ADOT tells tech influencer Sawyer Merritt.
San Francisco is also mulling its decision. It's unclear when Tesla filed for the permits, but CEO Elon Musk says he expects regulatory approval "probably in a month or two," in a post on X.
Tesla already has one of three permits required to operate in California, The Verge reports. It received a certificate to operate a ride-hailing business in March from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), but that only allows it to begin testing with a safety driver. It still needs a permit for fully driverless testing and clearance to deploy autonomous vehicles.
Waymo is well established in both Phoenix and San Francisco, along with Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Austin. It plans to expand to Miami next, and started testing in New York City this week. If Tesla continues to follow in Waymo's footsteps, it may expand to some of the same cities, but the two companies are not equivalent. They have different technical approaches: Waymo's software relies on a combination of LiDAR and camera feeds, while Tesla's insists on a controversial cameras-only approach.
We haven't seen the full extent of Tesla's self-driving skills. Musk described the Austin debut, which consisted of 10 Model Ys operating in a geofenced area, as putting "a toe in the water" in a January earnings call. He plans to "make sure everything is okay, then put a few more toes in the water, then put a foot in the water with safety of the general public and those in the car as our top priority."
The first Tesla robotaxi accident occurred two weeks post-launch when a vehicle hit a parked Toyota Camry. There have been other reports of unsafe driving as well, prompting an inquiry from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), though so far no injuries. The NHTSA says it "will take any necessary actions to protect road safety.”