Nevada’s Transportation Authority has given the green light to Tesla, Uber, and Waymo to operate thousands of robotaxis in Clark County, home to Las Vegas. The permits allow for up to 8,000 robotaxis to be deployed across the county over the next 12 months, with Tesla set to deploy up to 5,000, Waymo up to 1,000, and Uber up to 1,000 through partnerships with Hyundai subsidiary Motional and Zoox.
The large-scale deployment of robotaxis in Las Vegas is poised to change the city’s workforce, with the potential to create new jobs in maintenance, charging, and cleaning, but also threatening the livelihoods of human taxi and gig drivers. The market impact is likely to be significant, with shares in companies like Tesla and Uber potentially seeing a boost as they expand their autonomous vehicle offerings. The development also highlights the growing trend of autonomous vehicles in the tech industry, with major players like Waymo and Motional leading the charge.