Armed with a new permit from Nevada’s Department of Motor Vehicles, Tesla is preparing to begin testing its autonomous vehicle technology on public streets in the state. The testing permit, which was first noted by Tesla influencer Sawyer Merritt, comes two months after CEO Elon Musk outlined the company’s plans to take its autonomous vehicle ambitions beyond Austin and into several new markets.
“We are expecting to greatly increase the service area to well in excess of what competitors are doing, hopefully in a week or two. We are getting the regulatory permission to launch in the Bay Area, Nevada, Arizona, Florida, and a number of other places,” Musk said during Tesla’s July 23 second-quarter earnings call. “As we get the approvals and prove out safety, we will be launching the autonomous ride-hailing across most of the country. I think we will probably have autonomous ride-hailing in probably half the population of the U.S. by the end of the year. That’s at least our goal, subject to regulatory approvals.”
Tesla started giving rides in driverless Model Y SUVs in Austin earlier this summer. The robotaxi service, which includes a Tesla employee sitting in the front passenger seat, began in South Austin. It has since grown to encompass more of the city.
Entry into Nevada for Tesla, or any company hoping to test its autonomous vehicle technology on public streets, is straightforward compared to California. Tesla and others have to fill out a testing registry permit form, which is then reviewed and processed by the state DMV. The regulatory agency then issues a Certificate of Compliance for testing along with sets of red license plates for each vehicle listed in the packet. Tesla has received that certificate, per Merritt.
Representatives with the Nevada DMV confirmed Tesla submitted its Testing Registry certification on September 3 and it was processed by its office of business licensing (OBL) team Wednesday. DMV spokesperson Hailey Foster explained this means Tesla is currently cleared to test autonomous vehicles in the state, but they are not allowed to deploy these vehicles into regular operation as a deployed service. “Tesla will still need to complete the self-certification for operations process to be able to rollout with an entire program, i.e. Robotaxi,” she wrote in the email.
To comply, companies testing AVs on public roads must show proof that they maintain $5 million insurance coverage according to the agency’s rules. Once the vehicles are on the road, companies must report any traffic incidents to the DMV within 10 days.
Nevada has an autonomous vehicle-friendly regulatory environment and has become a hotbed of activity for the sector. Motional and Lyft tested on public streets in Las Vegas for years and Nuro set up a closed test track in the state.
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But it is Zoox, and its cube-like custom-built robotaxis, that have become synonymous with Las Vegas. Earlier this week, Zoox announced it has opened up its robotaxi service to the public, although those rides will be free until the company receives regulatory approval to charge a fee.
If Tesla wants to operate a commercial robotaxi business, the company will have to take additional steps, including getting approval from the Nevada Transportation Authority to operate as an autonomous vehicle network company.
This article has been updated to include comments from the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles.
