Tesla has asked San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland airports to acquire permissions to run a riding-hailing service at each place, according to Politico.
Tesla seems to have contacted each airport just around the time it started a beginning charter service in California at the end of July. In the case of San Francisco and Oakland airports, representatives told the business that they had been contacted but had not yet met with Tesla. The San Jose Airport spokesman confirmed that no permit had been submitted and that Tesla had asked about the permission process.
Tesla is currently missing the right permissions to run a real Ride-Hail service, so much less a Robotaxi network in California. Instead, it runs a more limited charter service. These should not involve any autonomous vehicle operations, although videos of rides have shown that the company’s drivers use its full self -propelled (monitored) software on the rides offered. Teslas FSD (monitored) is an advanced driver assistant system with some automated driving functions that require the driver to pay attention.
To spin a major Ride-Hail service in California, Tesla needs a permission from California’s Public Utilities Commission. And if the fleet consists of autonomous vehicles, it also needs permissions from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
California DMV is currently trying to prevent Tesla from selling vehicles in the state because it believes the company has given far too aggressive promises of its cars’ self -driving abilities.
Airports are often discerning when it comes to allowing new transport services. A decade ago, they were a battlefield for Uber and Lyft, companies that tried to go into business with traditional taxis and limousine services.
In recent years, airports have become a measure of budding autonomous vehicle services.
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Waymo has been offering trips to and from Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International for about two years now. And just last week, the company received permission to do the same at San Jose Airport. (Rides to and from San Jose Airport starts later in the year after Waymo finishes testing.) Airports are popular goals because they represent a huge business opportunity; Waymo says Phoenix Airport is its most popular destination in the city.
Tesla began testing the first version of its invited Robotaxi network in Austin, Texas with about a dozen cars. It has expanded this network’s limits to cover much of the larger Austin area, although the company still seems to have just about 20 to 30 cars in operation and has moved the “security monitor” to the driver’s seat.
Texas does not require as much transparency as California does when it comes to testing autonomous vehicles, so it is difficult to say how well it has gone for the company. There have been a number of documented problems, although no major crashes or other events.