Tesla robotaxis receive approval in Nevada

Tesla will now be allowed to deploy robotaxis in the US state of Nevada for the first time - specifically in Las Vegas. However, the approval comes with very strict conditions. Additionally, the fleet is initially limited to just ten vehicles, even though Tesla had reportedly applied for 5,000.

According to US media reports, Tesla’s ten robotaxis will initially only be permitted to operate within a strictly defined area on the Las Vegas Strip. Their speed is also limited to 45 mph, approximately 72 km/h, and they must be supervised by an appropriate human at all times. However, Electrek reports that the robotaxis are not allowed to travel to the nearby Harry Reid International Airport, despite Tesla’s original application to include it.

For context: Tesla launched its robotaxi service in mid-2025 on a small scale in Austin with around 25 vehicles. Initially, a safety driver was always present in the front passenger seat, ready to take control of the vehicle via a display in case of an emergency. In January 2026, this ‘Safety Monitor’ was relocated to a ‘follow’ vehicle. Tesla also operates a service called Robotaxi in San Francisco, but there, a driver always remains behind the wheel, as Tesla currently lacks approval to operate fully autonomous vehicles in California. In April, the company also announced an expansion to the Texan metropolises of Dallas and Houston. However, the operational areas in these cities are expected to remain very limited. It remains unclear whether any robotaxis are already in use there and, if so, how many.

According to Electrek, Tesla’s entire fully autonomous robotaxi fleet in the United States currently comprises “about 20 vehicles operating at the same time”. The portal reports that the number in Austin peaked at nearly 25 at the end of April before declining again.

Meanwhile, it remains unclear why Tesla sought approval from Nevada’s transportation authority for 5,000 units within the first 12 months for all of Clark County. This detail reportedly comes from an application submitted by Tesla Robotaxi LLC to the relevant authority in early June. The application explicitly listed Harry Reid International Airport and Henderson Executive Airport as pickup locations.

The actual approval – granted on 27 July – permits “ten fully autonomous vehicles, operating only inside a geofence the regulator has to approve, with a 45 mph ceiling and no airport service.”. Furthermore, expanding the fleet beyond ten vehicles would require a new approval.

Electrek, however, notes that the limit of ten units only appears restrictive on the surface: “Nevada’s cap isn’t the binding constraint. Tesla doesn’t have 5,000 driverless cars. It doesn’t have 100. Ten more in Las Vegas would be a 50 per cent increase in its national fleet.” According to the portal: “the software is the bottleneck, not the permit and not the hardware.”