Tesla awarded ride-hail permit in California, a first step for robotaxis

is transportation editor with 10+ years of experience who covers EVs, public transportation, and aviation. His work has appeared in The New York Daily News and City & State. Last year, Tesla applied to become a transportation charter-party carrier (TCP), which enables it to operate a fleet of vehicles for passenger services using employees as drivers. CPUC is a state agency that regulates human- and robot-driven vehicles for ride-hail services. With its new permit, Tesla can transport its own employees as passengers in Tesla vehicles on a pre-arranged basis, according to CPUC. It can then transition to using the permit to transport members of the public, but will need to notify the agency first before initiating that step. TCP permits are different from the permits for ridehailing companies like Uber and Lyft, which operate as transportation network companies that connect independent drivers to customers via mobile apps. With its new permit, Tesla can transport its own employees as ... Read full article.