Tesla moves to expand Robotaxi to Phoenix, following rival Waymo
Tesla has applied to conduct autonomous vehicle testing and operations, with and without human safety drivers on board, in Arizona, a spokesperson for the Arizona Department of Transportation told CNBC on Thursday. A decision on the application is expected at the end of July, and Tesla has "expressed interest in operating within the Phoenix Metro area," the spokesperson said via email.
Reuters first reported Tesla's Arizona ambitions.
The effort to expand to Arizona comes after Tesla in June began a pilot test of its robotaxis in Austin, Texas. Tesla's Austin fleet includes Model Y SUVs that are equipped with the company's newest, automated driving systems. Those vehicles are remotely supervised by employees in an undisclosed operations center, and they each include a human safety supervisor who rides with passengers.
The safety supervisor sits in the front passenger seat, accompanying riders, who are invited fans of Tesla. The supervisor can intervene should the Tesla Robotaxis get into trouble.
Waymo, owned by Google parent Alphabet, opened up a driverless robotaxi service to the public in the Phoenix area in 2020.
Tesla, which was once seen as a self-driving pioneer, is now working to catch up to Waymo. The companies have distinct approaches to self-driving technology. Tesla claims its choice to mostly use cameras instead of expensive sensors like lidar will make its autonomous vehicles more economically viable.
The Musk company's initial efforts in Austin have run into issues.
One invited passenger, who runs a Tesla-focused YouTube channel called Dirty Tesla, captured an incident on camera where his Robotaxi dinged a parked car outside of a restaurant.
Other incidents where Tesla Robotaxis violated rules of the road in Austin have also been captured on camera and circulated on social media, drawing regulatory scrutiny from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the federal vehicle safety agency.
Tesla is scheduled to hold a second-quarter earnings call on July 23, during which executives are expected to discuss the initial Robotaxi pilot.
Separately, Musk on Wednesday said on X that Tesla is awaiting regulatory approvals to bring Robotaxis to the San Francisco Bay Area "probably in a month or two."
The California Department of Motor Vehicles sued Tesla in 2022 alleging that the company made false claims in marketing and advertising about its vehicles' self-driving capabilities.
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