Nevada clears Tesla for up to 5,000 robotaxis, lifting its 10-vehicle pilot cap
Nevada's Transportation Authority unanimously approved commercial robotaxi permits for Tesla, Uber and Waymo in Clark County, raising Tesla's cap from 10 vehicles to as many as 5,000 — a sharp escalation from July's pilot-scale approval.
Tesla first won a Nevada robotaxi permit on July 27, but instead of the 5,000 vehicles it requested, regulators capped the fleet at just 10 — confined to the Las Vegas Strip corridor, limited to 45 mph, and barred from picking up passengers at Harry Reid International Airport.
That changed on August 20, when the Nevada Transportation Authority unanimously approved commercial robotaxi permits for Tesla, Uber and Waymo across Clark County. Tesla's permit now allows up to 5,000 robotaxis, while Waymo can run up to 1,000 — as reported by TechCrunch, Axios and Fortune, among others.
Tesla still can't flood the streets overnight — it must complete vehicle inspections, insurance filings and fare filings before commercial rides begin, a process expected to take roughly 30 days.
Las Vegas is shaping up as Tesla's second major robotaxi market after Austin, though Tesla hasn't yet said how many vehicles it will actually deploy or when.
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