Tesla asked for 5,000 Vegas robotaxis. Nevada approved 10

Tesla asked state officials for permission to run a fleet of as many as 5,000 robotaxis in Southern Nevada this summer; the Nevada Transportation Authority granted a license for only 10 vehicles. The NTA approved the scaled‑down license on July 27 after Tesla had sought a brigade‑sized fleet in June, according to NTA records. Amazon‑owned Zoox, which launched paid Las Vegas robotaxi rides last week, is permitted to operate up to 100 vehicles. The license requires that robotaxis be clearly marked, limits their speed to 45 mph, confines them to a designated geofenced area, and prohibits pick‑up or drop‑off within a quarter mile of Harry Reid International Airport unless the Clark County Department of Aviation is involved. Tesla’s robotaxi program also calls for quality oversight and obliges the company to study any crash, safety incident, system failure, communications or data interruption, or any occasion when a robotaxi becomes disabled within five moving days of the event. In preparation for a possible service launch, the Elon Musk‑owned firm is spending $3.1 million to retrofit a 37,000‑square‑foot facility in the southwest valley with six car lifts and eight conveyance superchargers; Tesla additionally supplies administrative and support services from a downtown location under a Clark County business license and has been actively hiring for Las Vegas‑focused robotaxi roles. Tesla has been testing the robotaxis around the Las Vegas Valley in recent months; the gold‑colored vehicles are clearly labeled as robotaxis.