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Tesla to Expand Autonomous Taxi Service to Bay Area in One to Two Months

Tesla to Expand Autonomous Taxi Service to Bay Area in One to Two Months
According to Reuters, on July 9, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the company will expand its autonomous taxi service to the San Francisco Bay Area in the next one to two months, depending on regulatory approval. Tesla began testing this highly anticipated autonomous taxi service last month in a limited area of Austin, Texas, with about 12 vehicles aimed at a specific group of passengers, featuring multiple restrictions, including a safety supervisor in the front passenger seat. In response to inquiries about the expansion of the autonomous taxi service on his social platform X, Musk stated that the service would expand to a 'larger area of Austin' this weekend, without disclosing specific locations or the scale of expansion. When asked about the Bay Area expansion plan by members of the Tesla Silicon Valley Owners Club, Musk replied, 'We are waiting for regulatory approval, which is expected to take one to two months.' The successful expansion of the autonomous taxi service is crucial for Tesla's future, especially as the company's electric vehicle product line faces aging issues and sales decline amid intensified market competition and backlash against Musk's support for far-right political views. Tesla's trillion-dollar market value largely depends on Musk's investments in autonomous taxis and humanoid robots, yet the commercialization of autonomous vehicles has proven more challenging than anticipated. High costs, strict regulations, and investigations have forced many companies to exit the field. Prior to Tesla's recent service launch, Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet, was the only operator charging passengers for its autonomous taxi service, currently operating around 1,500 self-driving cars and cautiously expanding its service area over the years, now covering multiple cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin, and Atlanta. Musk stated that Tesla will quickly promote the autonomous taxi service to other U.S. cities. It is noteworthy that Texas imposes almost no regulatory restrictions on Tesla, while California has stringent regulations on the operating locations and methods for autonomous vehicles, requiring companies to provide testing data to obtain permits. In California, Tesla needs to obtain a series of permits from the state's Department of Motor Vehicles and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to operate a fully autonomous taxi service. On July 10, the California DMV and CPUC responded, stating that Tesla has yet to apply for the regulatory permits needed to operate an autonomous taxi service in California. A spokesperson from the California DMV stated, 'As of now, Tesla has not applied for autonomous testing or deployment permits.' The CPUC added that Tesla has not applied for any new permits. Currently, Tesla has only obtained a Transport Charter Party (TCP) license, typically used for driver-equipped transport services, allowing Tesla to own and manage a fleet to transport employees on pre-arranged trips. This was the first permit issued by the CPUC in March for Tesla to initiate autonomous taxi services. Additionally, on July 10, the Arizona Department of Transportation stated that Tesla contacted the state at the end of last month to initiate the certification process for its autonomous vehicle sharing service, with a decision expected by the end of this month. The Arizona DOT mentioned in an email to Reuters, 'Tesla has expressed interest in operating in the Phoenix metropolitan area.' Tesla has applied for testing and operations with and without drivers. Tesla's stock has fallen 23% this year, but rose nearly 5% at the close on July 10. Tesla did not respond to requests for comment regarding the report. However, it is noteworthy that videos released on social media by selected passengers during the initial days of the public test in Austin showed the company experiencing multiple traffic and driving issues.

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