Nevada Authorizes Up to 8,000 Robotaxis for Las Vegas Operators

Overview

• The Nevada Transportation Authority unanimously approved permits on Thursday that let Tesla deploy up to 5,000 robotaxis and grant Waymo and Uber authorizations for up to 1,000 vehicles each, creating a combined ceiling of up to 8,000 vehicles in Clark County.
• Company witnesses told regulators the numbers are regulatory ceilings rather than near-term targets and Tesla said it realistically expects roughly 2,500 vehicles in the first year rather than the full 5,000 cap.
• Operators must complete vehicle inspections, file insurance paperwork and win fare approvals before commercial rides can start, and several companies said those steps could be finished in about 30 days.
• Local livery and taxi groups warned the approvals risk oversaturating the market, displacing drivers and worsening congestion in concentrated testing zones such as the Golden Triangle.
• Nevada has long been an AV testing ground with prior permits for firms like Zoox, and regulators used the new permits to expand geofenced operating areas while keeping conditions that tie deployment to safety, software readiness and oversight.