Tesla initiated its robotaxi launch in California by securing a transportation charter-party carrier permit as per state regulations. The transportation charter-party carrier permit functions as a vital requirement for organizing autonomous ride-hailing services apart from chauffeur-driven operations.

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The California Department of Motor Vehicles has not issued permits allowing Tesla to perform driverless operations or engage in driverless testing. For a complete autonomous taxi service to launch properly one needs to have these specific permits.

The adoption of robotaxis by Tesla occurs at a time when sales of its current electric vehicles are showing reduced demand. As per CEO Elon Musk autonomous transportation represents Tesla's fundamental business growth opportunity despite existing regulatory and clearance obstacles.

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According to the California Public Utilities Commission Tesla received its permit but the commission clarified it does not allow autonomous public vehicle transportation. The company needs to obtain supplementary authorisation from DMV and CPUC before launching both driverless ride-hailing services and collecting payments from passengers.

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Under current California vehicle regulations Tesla must run its autonomous ride-hailing service with a person who drives for safety control purposes. A driverless ride-hailing application for employees has been under testing in the San Francisco Bay Area according to information released by Musk in a previous earnings call.

Tesla chairman Elon Musk has declared his plans to launch driverless ride-hailing services across California and Texas this year before starting "autonomous ride-hailing for money" operations in Austin during June 2023. During the event Tesla premiered the CyberCab robotaxi concept which will be produced for commercial deployment starting in 2026.

The experts predict that robotaxi commercialisation will require several years because of both technical complexities and financial considerations. The regulatory framework along with technological barriers stand as major impediments for Tesla to achieve its envisioned objectives.