Tesla's California Ride-Hail Permit: Robotaxi Plans and Regulatory Hurdles

Tesla seeks California ride-hail permit, a step towards future robotaxi services amid regulatory hurdles.
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Tesla's California Ride-Hail Permit: Robotaxi Plans and Regulatory Hurdles
Tesla applied for a permit with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to operate a transportation service in the state — a required first step if the automaker wants to eventually operate a robotaxi service there.                           Image Credits:SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images Tesla’s application for a transportation charter-party carrier permit was first reported by Bloomberg. TechCrunch has independently confirmed with the CPUC that Tesla applied for the TCP permit in November 2024. The permit is pending and has not yet been approved. These TCP permits are different from those held by ride-hailing app companies Lyft and Uber. A TCP permit means the company — in this case Tesla — owns the vehicles and uses employees as drivers, according to the CPUC, which regulates human-driven and driverless ride-hailing services in the state. Uber and Lyft hold transportation network company (TNC) permits. TNCs use an online-enabled application like a smartphon…