Tesla asked Nevada regulators for permission to run up to 5,000 robotaxis across Las Vegas. It was granted 10. The Nevada Transportation Authority set out the limit in an interim order dated 27 July. The cap sits far below what the company requested.
The gap is stark in the paperwork. Tesla Robotaxi filed its application on 5 June. It sought an autonomous vehicle network permit for Clark County. The filing asked for “no more than five thousand (5,000) vehicles for the first twelve (12) months,” and named both Harry Reid International Airport and Henderson Executive Airport. The order that followed granted “a maximum fleet of ten (10) fully autonomous vehicles,” and shut the airports out.
The permit is tightly drawn. Every trip must start and finish in Clark County. Operations are “limited to the Las Vegas Strip corridor,” within a mapped area the Authority has to approve. The document bars passenger trips on roads with speed limits above 45 miles per hour. It also prohibits pick-ups at, or within a quarter-mile of, Harry Reid International Airport. Those need sign-off from the airport operator and other authorities first.
What the order requires
The conditions go further than the fleet cap. Every vehicle must be marked “Robotaxi,” according to the order. Riders must be told before each trip that the car is driverless. Operations must include “appropriate human supervision” under Society of Automotive Engineers standards. Tesla must also report any crash, security incident or system failure to the Authority within five working days. That window covers data interruptions too. It also covers a robotaxi that ends up disabled on a Nevada road.
