Tesla applies for ride-hail permit in California — but there’s a catch

Tesla applied for a permit with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to operate a transportation service in the state — a required first step if the automaker wants to eventually operate a robotaxi service there.

Tesla’s application for a transportation charter-party carrier permit was first reported by Bloomberg. TechCrunch has independently confirmed with the CPUC that Tesla applied for the TCP permit in November 2024. The permit is pending and has not yet been approved.

These TCP permits are different from those held by ride-hailing app companies Lyft and Uber. A TCP permit means the company — in this case Tesla — owns the vehicles and uses employees as drivers, according to the CPUC, which regulates human-driven and driverless ride-hailing services in the state.

Uber and Lyft hold transportation network company (TNC) permits. TNCs use an online-enabled application like a smartphone app to connect drivers using their personal vehicles with paying passengers.

A CPUC spokesperson told TechCrunch that Tesla has not applied for a TNC permit. The automaker also has not applied to participate in the CPUC’s Autonomous Vehicle Passenger Service program, the spokesperson said.

This doesn’t mean Tesla isn’t gearing up for a driverless ride-hailing service, though. According to the agency, companies must hold a TCP permit to participate in the autonomous vehicle passenger service program.

Tesla’s application to operate in California runs counter to the automaker’s shift away from the state for greener regulatory pastures like Texas.

CEO Elon Musk said last month during an earnings call that his company would launch a paid ride-hailing robotaxi service in Austin this coming June. The service will use Tesla-owned vehicles — not those owned by individuals — and will use the yet-to-be-released “unsupervised” version of its Full Self-Driving software.

Musk also revealed last October a purpose-built Cybercab prototype designed without a steering wheel or pedals.