A Tesla (TSLA) application to start ride-hailing services in California has surfaced online. Bloomberg first reported the application which was submitted to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) by Tesla back in November.
I tried to search the CPUC website but there is no public information available on this Tesla application. The State of California requires ride-sharing providers like Tesla to apply for a Transportation Charter-Party (TCP) permit.
A TCP permit is the first step in starting a ride-hailing service in California. According to TechCrunch, the approval of Tesla’s TCP permit is still pending after almost 4 months.
After Tesla acquires the TCP permit, it would be directly competing with ride-sharing transportation services providers like Uber and Lyft in California.
However, Tesla’s business model of ride-hailing services is different from other providers like Uber and Lyft. The tech & AI automaker aims to own the fleet of cars providing the ride-sharing services in California.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been teasing a ride-hailing service. But Musk’s plans have always been wrapped around an autonomous ride-hailing service. At one point, he stated that Tesla will keep/buy back all the leased Model 3 and Model Y vehicles and later use them as autonomous robotaxis.
Last year during the Q1 2024 Earnings Call, Musk said that Tesla’s ride-hailing business model will be better than Uber and Lyft.
However, Tesla’s current application with the CPUC isn’t sufficient to allow Tesla to operate driverless taxis in California. The automaker will need a few more regulatory approvals before it can actually launch its Cybercab robotaxi service in the state of its origin.
Elon Musk announced last year that Unsupervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) will be first launched in Texas and California. Recently, Musk confirmed that the launch of Usupervised FSD in Austin, TX is on schedule, i.e. June 2025.
For the last few years, Elon Musk and the State of California haven’t been on good terms. During Covid-19, Tesla’s Fremont factory was shut down despite following the government regulations. This created a rift that ended in Tesla’s HQ moving to Texas and Musk also relocated to the lonestar state.
California is still the most populas state when it comes to the number of Tesla electric cars. Launching an online Tesla ride-hailing service will surely be an interesting story — so stay tuned.
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