Technical Program Manager

Nevada opens roads for Tesla, Waymo and Uber's Aviari driverless rides in Las Vegas. An autonomous vehicle from Waymo is deployed Aug. 3, 2026, on the Las Vegas Strip. Photo by: Tag Christof / The New York Times Friday, Aug. 21, 2026 | 12:54 p.m. The Nevada Transportation Authority has approved three autonomous vehicle companies to provide passenger transportation in driverless cars within Clark County, officials said today. Elon Musk's Tesla Robotaxi, Waymo and Aviari Services - a subsidiary of Uber - were given the green light to charge for rides around Las Vegas so long as they comply with conditions set by the authority. "Nevada has established a regulatory framework for autonomous vehicle network companies that is intended to provide a clear process for innovation while maintaining regulatory oversight," Kristopher Sanchez, director of the Nevada Department of Business & Industry, said in a statement. "As autonomous vehicle technology continues to develop and these companies scale up their operations, I support the NTA's commitment to evaluate the existing regulatory framework and make adjustments when appropriate to ensure that the safety of the traveling public remains a central consideration." With the approval, vehicles from all three companies can traverse roads in Clark County, including at Harry Reid International Airport, though each will still need separate authorization from the Clark County Department of Aviation before entering airport grounds. Tesla is being allowed a fleet of up to 5,000 fully autonomous vehicles during its first year, while Waymo and Aviari were each capped at 1,000 vehicles. The approvals come with requirements: Companies must provide vehicle inspection documentation, maintain required insurance, submit rates to the NTA before offering service, share customer-facing app information for regulatory review and comply with rules on accessibility. Permits also require reporting crashes and other incidents, keeping maintenance and repair records, and operating only within the NTA's authorized scope. Operations must begin within 120 days of permits being issued, though none of the three companies can start service until all requirements are met. Waymo tested a small fleet on Las Vegas roads last year, piloted by trained human specialists, using the data to improve its self-driving technology in other cities. It applied for a passenger transportation permit in June. "Las Vegas has a proud, proven history of setting global standards for unforgettable experiences and forward-thinking innovation," Mayor Shelley Berkley said in a statement. "The introduction of Waymo and its autonomous driving technology is not a science experiment, but rather a proven, safe, new alternative designed to help our residents and the millions of visitors who come to our city get around - from the Strip and beyond. We are committed to ensuring this technology is adopted responsibly and securing Las Vegas' place as a leader in the future of urban mobility." The approval comes almost a year after Amazon's self-driving subsidiary Zoox launched a free rideshare service in the Resort Corridor. Since then, Zoox says it has driven over 3 million miles and carried nearly a million riders across Las Vegas, San Francisco, Miami and Austin, Texas, with rider feedback helping scale operations in current and new markets. In late July, Zoox received the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's first-ever commercial exemption for a "purpose-built autonomous robotaxi," clearing the way for paid service - which began Aug. 10 in Las Vegas. Tesla has also pursued a Las Vegas presence. Its vehicles already operate in the Vegas Loop tunnels, though currently with human drivers. On June 5, Tesla Robotaxi applied for a temporary permit for 5,000 autonomous vehicles; the NTA initially limited it to just 10 vehicles, confined to an approved Strip corridor with a 45 mph cap and restrictions on airport-area pickups. The new approval significantly expands that scope. Not everyone welcomes the change. The Nevada Yellow Cab Corp., Nevada Checker Cab Corp., Nevada Star Cab Corp. and others petitioned the NTA in July, arguing that Tesla Robotaxi's request "would fundamentally change the regulatory landscape governing the passenger transportation industry in Nevada" and have "immediate and substantial effects" on their business, employees and regulatory rights. Resident Robert McGaha also wrote in protest, urging the NTA to hold off until Tesla proves its vehicles are safe and beneficial to the community. He warned that large-scale autonomous ride services could threaten jobs for Nevada's taxicab, limousine and rideshare drivers "at a time when many families continue to experience economic hardship, rising living costs and unemployment uncertainty." He also noted Tesla's Robotaxi program "has accumulated substantially less commercial operating experience than other autonomous vehicle companies currently providing driverless passenger service," citing a "lack of transparency" as cause for concern. "The Nevada Transportation Authority's foremost responsibility is to protect the safety of the public," McGaha wrote. "Before granting authority to transport passengers in fully autonomous vehicles, the Authority should require clear and convincing evidence that the applicant's technology has demonstrated a level of safety appropriate for commercial passenger service."

Here's how Zoox's robotaxi safety testing will work. Now that Zoox has approval to charge customers for robotaxi rides, it's released a detailed safety testing framework for its cars. Aug 14, at 10:00am ET Last week, Zoox was given federal approval to finally charge customers for robotaxi rides in states that are cool with it. Before that, Zoox was offering free rides, but it recently got a waiver from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to allow it to deploy its bespoke robotaxis in commercial service. Now that it can charge customers, Zoox has released a full testing safety testing framework to ensure rides are as safe as possible moving forward and that its safety practices are transparent. Right now, Zoox is only legally allowed to operate with paying customers in Las Vegas, because that's one of the two cities where its pilot program was active, and Nevada is currently the only state that permitted Zoox. Zoox's vehicles are little self-driving pods, lacking steering wheels, pedals, and drivers. The little robotaxi picks you up and takes you to your destination all by itself, with no customer supervision required. Naturally, there are going to be issues. No system works percectly every time, and there are just too many unknown variables for any computer to handle in real time. Roads are chaotic, and all drivers - human or robot - can struggle with novel situations. So mistakes will be made, which is why Zoox wants to learn from them. What do you think? This safety framework combines three pillars: hardware, software, and operations, so that Zoox can better understand why failures occurred and fix them systemically. Since Zoox wants its cars to be smarter than the average human driver, it needs to know the root causes of problems, not just the problems themselves. I find it refreshing that Zoox is being transparent about its safety technology and methodology, rather than hide away and say "trust me, bro," like some other automakers. Will Zoox share the results of this safety testing? That's yet to be seen but this seems like a good place to start.