Tesla wins Arizona approval to test robotaxis with safety monitor onboard

Tesla just got clearance to start testing autonomous cars in Arizona. A safety driver will sit in the front seat while the cars run on their own. This move shows Tesla is getting ready to take its robotaxi program beyond Austin.

The company told Arizona officials it wants to start in the Phoenix area. It reached out to the Arizona Department of Transportation back in late June to begin this process, and that’s when the permit application started rolling.

According to Bloomberg, Tesla applied for two different kinds of permits — one for testing with a driver, and one for testing without one.

But if it plans to start giving rides to the public, it still needs to get a transportation network license. That’s the same type of license Uber and Lyft need to operate in the state. So while the greenlight is a big win, it’s not the final step.

Tesla adds Arizona after Texas and Nevada

This makes Arizona the third state where Tesla is allowed to test these robotaxis. Texas and Nevada already gave the company the go-ahead, with Nevada granting its permit just earlier this month.

Tesla first launched its robotaxi service in Austin back in June, but only for a small group of early users. In late July, Tesla quietly opened access to the robotaxi app in the Bay Area too.

Still, none of these cars are fully driverless. They’re all using an unreleased version of Tesla’s Full Self Driving software, and there’s always a safety monitor sitting behind the wheel, ready to take over.

Investors are watching every step. The market wants to know how fast Tesla can expand this network and actually turn it into a business.

Right now, the cars aren’t completely autonomous, and there’s no confirmed date for when Tesla will try to remove the safety driver. But the pieces are clearly being put in place.

Stock rebounds as Musk buys $1 billion in shares

Tesla’s stock price has been through hell this year, but it’s finally turned around. After a rough first quarter, the worst since 2022, and a bloody April triggered by Trump’s tariff announcement, the shares have now jumped back into the green.

They closed the week up 5.2%, ending Friday at $426. That’s more than $26 higher than Tesla’s last close in 2024. Since hitting a low of $221.86 in early April, the stock has gained 85%.

A new SEC filing shows that Elon Musk, through his family foundation, just bought $1 billion worth of shares. That news came out this week and added fuel to the rebound.

This marks the second year in a row Tesla’s stock made a comeback after a rough Q1. Last year, shares dropped 29% from January to March, then rallied to end 2024 up 63%.

At the same time, analysts are still eyeing Musk’s new pay package, which could bring him a staggering $1 trillion over the next ten years, if certain performance targets are met. That plan hasn’t been finalized yet, but it’s out there and making waves.

Tesla also rolled out new MegaBlocks battery systems. These come prebuilt and are sold to businesses trying to save on energy costs or get more power from solar and wind. It’s part of Tesla’s plan to make money beyond just cars.

Even after all this, Tesla is still the second-worst performing stock among the big tech names in 2025. Only Apple has done worse, with its shares down 5% so far this year. Tesla’s still dealing with weak sales, too. Its cars are getting old, and cheaper EVs from BYD in China are eating up more market share, as Cryptopolitan reported previously.