DigitalToday intern reporter Seung-ah Yoo (유승아) reported that Nevada approved Tesla robotaxi operations in Las Vegas but limited the number of vehicles to 10.

On Aug. 17, local time, electric vehicle outlet Electrek reported that Tesla requested rights to operate up to 5,000 vehicles, but Nevada transportation authorities sharply narrowed the scope and conditions of the approval.

Under the permit, Tesla can operate fully autonomous vehicles only within a regulator-approved geofenced area on the Las Vegas Strip. The top speed is limited to 45 miles per hour, about 72 km per hour, and it cannot pick up passengers at Harry Reid International Airport. Vehicles must display a "robotaxi" label, and passengers must be informed they are riding in an unmanned vehicle. Operations also require appropriate human supervision.

Tesla applied in early June to Nevada transportation authorities for a permit as an autonomous vehicle network company. It sought permission to operate across all of Clark County and to run up to 5,000 vehicles in the first 12 months. The application included Harry Reid International Airport and Henderson Executive Airport as pickup locations. The authorities approved the request on July 27 but imposed conditions including a 10-vehicle cap, operation only within the approved area and a ban on airport service. Tesla must obtain approval again to increase the fleet above 10.

Regulators did not publicly explain how the request for 5,000 vehicles was reduced to approval for 10. Still, the decision shows that even if Tesla begins a robotaxi business in Nevada, its initial pace of expansion could be limited.

The gap is more pronounced compared with rivals. Amazon subsidiary Zoox holds a permit in Nevada to operate up to 100 vehicles. The most recently revised permit included the phrase "a fleet limited to a vehicle count not exceeding 100." Zoox is currently operating about 50 vehicles on the Strip and started a paid ride service this month.

Waymo also filed its own application in Nevada in June, and Uber subsidiary Aviaory Service began the application process in July. Both are still under review. Waymo entered fully driverless operations in Las Vegas in early July. That made Tesla the third autonomous driving operator to enter the Strip, and its requested vehicle count was 50 times that of the other two operators.

The meaning of the permit also ties to Tesla's current operating scale. Tesla's unsupervised robotaxi vehicles operating simultaneously across the United States were reported to be about 20. In Austin, the fleet rose to about 25 in late April before shrinking again. Adding 10 vehicles in Las Vegas would increase the total by about 50 percent. That means Nevada's vehicle cap is not a practical constraint. Tesla's Cybercab production speed is already outpacing actual deployment, and there is an argument that the bottleneck is software rather than permits or hardware.

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk (일론 머스크) has said the robotaxi programme will not generate meaningful revenue until at least 2027, a timeline that also reflects a forecast he has pushed back for about 10 years. Electrek said the request for 5,000 vehicles does not fit market conditions or Tesla's actual deployment capacity. It cited that even in places with almost no regulation such as Texas and Florida, Tesla's unsupervised robotaxis are limited to around 20. The outlet said that deploying even 10 vehicles in Las Vegas is a stretch for Tesla's current capabilities and that the application is another example of excessive confidence in the autonomous driving capabilities of Tesla and Musk.

With the airport pickup ban, the geofence limits and the requirement to obtain reapproval for any fleet increase, Tesla's Las Vegas robotaxis are likely to remain a small-vehicle pilot. Whether it can expand will depend on follow-on approvals and the pace of improvements in its autonomous driving software.