The Nevada Transportation Authority voted unanimously Thursday to grant Tesla, Uber and Waymo permits to operate commercial robotaxi service across Clark County, clearing the way for as many as 8,000 driverless vehicles to pick up paying passengers in the Las Vegas area over the next 12 months.
Under the new Autonomous Vehicle Network Company permits, Tesla can deploy up to 5,000 robotaxis, Waymo up to 1,000, and Uber up to 1,000 — the last operating through its Motional and Zoox partnerships rather than Uber's own fleet. The approval marks one of the largest coordinated autonomous-vehicle authorizations any state has issued to date.
A Dramatic Reversal From Weeks Earlier
The scale of Thursday's decision stands in sharp contrast to where things stood just days before. An interim order had limited Tesla's robotaxi service to a mere 10 vehicles confined to a narrow stretch of the Las Vegas Strip, with a 45 mph speed cap and a ban on airport pickups. Tesla had asked regulators for permission to deploy 5,000 vehicles across the county — and, unusually, got the full number it requested.
Not everyone expects the companies to reach those ceilings quickly. Tesla's Cybercab chief engineer told regulators the 5,000 figure was always meant as a ceiling rather than a target, adding that the company would be pleased to reach half that number in the permit's first year. TechCrunch reported that Tesla representatives said the company plans to start with a small initial deployment and scale up gradually rather than flooding the market at once.
The 5,000 has always been a ceiling for us... we would be extremely happy if we could get ourselves up to 2,500, maybe a bit higher.
— Tesla Cybercab chief engineer, remarks to the Nevada Transportation Authority
Where the Cars Will Run
Initial operations will concentrate on Clark County's so-called Golden Triangle — the corridor linking Harry Reid International Airport to Las Vegas Boulevard — along with downtown Las Vegas and the Town Square shopping district. Permit holders must submit vehicle inspection records, carry required insurance, file rates with the NTA before charging for rides, share their customer-facing app for regulatory review, comply with accessibility rules, and report crashes and other incidents. Amazon's Zoox unit, notably, has already been running a much smaller robotaxi operation of up to 100 vehicles in Nevada since 2025, giving the state several years of prior experience regulating driverless fleets before Thursday's expansion.
Not every stakeholder welcomed the decision. The Livery Operators Association, representing traditional taxi and limousine companies, opposed the permits at the hearing, warning of an oversaturated commercial transportation market and worsened congestion in the already-dense Golden Triangle corridor. Waymo and Tesla are pursuing fully autonomous, driver-free models, while Uber has positioned itself around a hybrid approach that blends robotaxi partnerships with its existing human-driven fleet.
What's Next
Commercial rides are expected to begin within roughly 30 days, once each company completes the required inspections, insurance filings and fare approvals. Tesla is separately preparing to expand public Cybercab rides in Austin, and the Las Vegas rollout is likely to serve as a closely watched test of how a 24-hour tourism-driven city absorbs a large-scale robotaxi fleet, with implications for how other states approach similar permitting decisions.
