The electric vehicle company applied for the transportation charter-party carrier permit, a license usually secured for chauffeur-operated services, in November, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) reported Thursday.
The approval will allow Tesla to own and control a fleet of vehicles and take employees on pre-arranged trips, according to a DMV spokesman.
“Tesla plans to transition to using the permit to transport members of the public on a pre-arranged basis,” DMV spokesman Chris Orrock told The Epoch Times in an email. “Tesla will notify the CPUC when it transitions to transporting members of the public.”
Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk described his vision for the service as “a combination of Airbnb and Uber” at the company’s shareholder meeting in June 2024.
“There will be some cars that Tesla owns itself—kind of like in an Uber fashion,” Musk told shareholders. “But then, for the fleet that is owned by our customers, it will be like an Airbnb thing. You can add or subtract your car to the fleet whenever you want.”
Musk said Tesla owners will be able to click on the company app and add their vehicles to the robotaxi fleet as a way to make money.
“You can add it to the fleet for a few hours, for a few days, or for a few weeks,” he added. “When you want it back, you can say ‘come back,’ and the car will come right back.
“The revenue made by the owner of the car will far exceed the actual monthly payment,” Musk added.
Musk envisioned rolling out the robotaxis in California and Texas this year.
Tesla has not applied for the permits needed to fully roll out its autonomous rideshare services, a DMV spokesperson reported Thursday.
The state has safety, insurance, vehicle registration, and other requirements that manufacturers must meet to operate autonomous vehicles on public roads, according to the DMV.
The company also needs permits from the state’s DMV and the CPUC to operate and charge customers for the taxi services, according to officials.
The company has only a DMV permit to test autonomous vehicles with a safety driver, which they last reported using in 2019, according to the DMV.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for details about its planned autonomous vehicle operations.
The Cybercab is designed to automatically adjust climate, seating positions, and music preferences, among other settings, before it arrives to pick up a passenger, according to Tesla.
“To create a sustainable future, we must democratize transportation,” Tesla said in an announcement Oct. 29. “We do this by making driving more efficient, affordable and safe. Autonomy makes this future possible, today.”
Tesla would not be the first company to launch robotaxis in the Golden State.
Waymo faces opposition from officials in Los Angeles and San Mateo counties who said the company had only limited discussions with city and county officials about its plans.
