Tesla has secured approval from the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) to begin testing autonomous vehicles on public roads with safety drivers, extending its Robotaxi testing program to another state.
In an email sent on Friday and shared on Saturday by Tesla shareholder Sawyer Merritt, ADOT’s Motor Vehicle Division confirmed it had acknowledged Tesla’s self-certification to test vehicles with safety operators.
The certification requires the cars to meet federal and state safety, licensing and insurance requirements, while limiting operation to trained employees, contractors, or other authorized personnel.
The Elon Musk-led company approached Arizona regulators in late June to start the paperwork required for autonomous vehicle ride-hailing, with Tesla detailing that its planned operations would focus on the Phoenix metropolitan area.
The approval places Tesla alongside rivals including Waymo, Aurora, Nuro, Cruise, Pony.ai and others already testing in Arizona, which has become one of the most open regulatory environments in the country for autonomous vehicles.
Merritt wrote on X early Saturday that he confirmed the approval directly with Arizona officials.
“Tesla has officially received approval from the Arizona Department of Transportation to start testing autonomous vehicles on public roads,” he said, noting the certification covers only safety-driver testing. “A TNC or ridesharing service will require a different permit.”
The Arizona permit adds to Tesla’s existing Robotaxi testing operations in Austin, the San Francisco Bay Area, Miami and Nevada.
In Austin, Tesla launched its service in late June, with safety operators usually riding in the passenger seat.
In the Bay Area, operators are required to sit behind the wheel, while in Nevada the state has authorized a service similar to Austin’s. In Miami last month, Tesla was spotted testing vehicles with no one inside — not even a safety operator.
During Tesla’s quarterly earnings call in July, CEO Elon Musk had highlighted that the company was seeking permissions in Nevada, Arizona, Florida and California.
“We’re getting the regulatory permission to launch in the Bay Area, Nevada, Arizona, and a number of… Florida, a number of other places,” Musk said at the time.
Tesla has been steadily widening the geofenced areas for its Robotaxi service, including freeways in Austin, where the operator must sit in the driver’s seat. Musk has said that requirement could soon end.
“The safety driver is only needed for the first few months to be extra safe,” he wrote on X last week. “There should be no safety driver by the end of the year.”
The company is also seeking to extend its operations to airports.
Politico reported this month that Tesla has approached several California airports to request approval for passenger pick-ups and drop-offs. Alphabet-backed Waymo last week became the first company authorized to operate commercially at San José Airport.
Tesla has also recently launched its Robotaxi app on the App Store.
Elon Musk has said he wants half of the US population to have access to the service by the end of 2025. In Texas, Tesla is also inviting customers to ride in a Robotaxi to its factory to pick up new vehicles.
“Be among the first to take an autonomous ride in Robotaxi at the end of September,” the company told customers in an invitation, calling it an exclusive opportunity to experience its latest technology ahead of collecting their Model Y.
Tesla shares earlier this month reached a seven-month high after the Nevada approval before extending gains this week to a new high since January.
