Tesla Robotaxi will be headed to New York City, but there is one huge thing that stands in its way: approval to test autonomous vehicles.

Tesla is expanding its Robotaxi platform across the United States as it currently operates in Austin, Texas, and the Bay Area of California.

The company has also been seeking approvals in several other states, including Nevada, Arizona, and Florida.

However, the company is also working to expand to major metropolitan areas across the U.S. that it has not explicitly mentioned, as it attempts to reach CEO Elon Musk’s goal of giving half of the country’s population access to the platform by the end of the year:

🚨Tesla plans to offer driverless Robotaxi rides to half the U.S. population by the end of the year, Musk says https://t.co/xEDoTF6fIt

— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 23, 2025

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It appears New York City is next on the list, according to a job posting on Tesla’s Careers website.

The company says it is hiring a Vehicle Operator for Autopilot in Flushing, New York, a section of the borough of Queens. Queens is connected to Brooklyn and Long Island, so it seems more ideal than launching in Manhattan or the Bronx, where traffic is heavy and charging is not as readily available.

Tesla’s job posting states:

“We are looking for a highly motivated self-starter to join our vehicle data collection team. As a Prototype Vehicle Operator, you will be responsible for driving an engineering vehicle for extended periods, conducting dynamic audio and camera data collection for testing and training purposes. Access to the data collected is limited to the applicable development team. This role requires a high level of flexibility, strong attention to detail, excellent driving skills, and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.”

It also lists the hours of operation as Tuesday through Saturday or Sunday through Thursday, with its three shifts listed as:

• Day Shift: 6:00 AM – 2:30 PM or 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM
• Afternoon Shift: 2:00 PM – 10:30 PM or 4:00 PM – 12:30 AM
• Night Shift: 10:00 PM-6:30 AM or 12:00 AM-8:30 AM

We wouldn’t count on New York City being the next place Tesla launches Robotaxi. According to a report from CNBC, a spokesperson for the NYC Department of Transportation confirmed Tesla has not yet applied for permits that are needed to operate its ride-hailing service.

For what it’s worth, it could just be the first step in Tesla’s plans. It also has Vehicle Operator job postings in other regions. Houston, Texas, as well as Tampa, Miami, and Clermont, Florida, are all listed on Tesla’s Career postings.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk gave a tremendous nod to Ford while also acknowledging his own influence on EVs and the automotive industry in general.

Yesterday, Ford announced its new manufacturing process for EVs, which was essentially a rebirth of its own production lines and plans for more affordable models to offer consumers.

It was important to recognize that Ford truly launched automotive manufacturing with its production of the Model T 122 years ago.

That’s exactly what Musk did in a response to Ford CEO Jim Farley:

Ford basically invented mass manufacturing of large, complex products. Everyone else copied.

Most people don’t know this.

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— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 11, 2025

In the over 100 years since Ford started producing vehicles, the company has had one significant fact go under the radar: it truly created a great process for building large, complex vehicles. It is something that many companies eventually adopted as the car industry took off.

Tesla is in a similar situation. It has used things like the Giga Press from the Italian company IDRA to create a better, more efficient, streamlined process for building cars.

It was able to use casting to eliminate a vast majority of parts from the Model Y, which not only helped increase manufacturing efficiency but also improved safety and structural rigidity. It truly revolutionized manufacturing for the company, and Ford said that it would adopt a similar mindset with its new EVs.

Yesterday, Doug Field, the Chief EV, Digital and Design Officer for Ford, and a former Sr. VP of Engineering for Tesla, said the company was taking the mentality that “the best part is no part.”

Musk acknowledged how far it has come and how it is influencing other car companies to do the same in terms of its production strategy:

🫡

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 12, 2025

Ford is using an “Assembly Tree,” which is essentially very similar to Tesla’s “unboxed production process.” In addition to the use of Gigacasting, which Ford is calling “Unicasting,” as well as the use of structural batteries, it is almost as if Tesla is having its own “Model T moment.”

Ford has been quick to adopt an EV mentality as it plans to transition its business over the next decades. It is working to prepare for the future of the atuomotive industry, and although it has adjusted its strategy, it can’t be denied that Ford is one of the legacy automakers taking this new chapter in cars seriously.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the company’s Robotaxi program would open to the public in September, but there is one big bottleneck that would inhibit it from launching smoothly.

The thing is, it can be resolved in no time, and Tesla can fix it internally.

In Austin, the Robotaxi platform has been in operation since late June. The launch of the program only allowed a handful of privileged influencers and groups to access the driverless ride-hailing service, although it has expanded this group on several occasions.

It has also slowly added vehicles to the fleet, starting at 11 cars when it launched in June. There have been a few cars added, but Tesla has continued to prioritize safety, keeping its rider population and number of vehicles low for the time being.

However, this is going to cause quite a bit of a bottleneck in next month’s planned public launch, as there will be an open invitation for anyone and everyone to test out the Robotaxi platform in Austin.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirms Robotaxi is opening to the public: here’s when

Many people have been waiting for an invitation to ride in a Robotaxi, and Tesla has not been prone to give one to just anybody.

As that becomes a much larger number next month, Tesla is going to have to step up its Robotaxi fleet number, as well as its population of Safety Monitors, the riders that sit in the passenger seat to ensure everything goes smoothly.

Tesla is going to need to add A LOT more cars if they want to be able to meet the demand, otherwise rides will be unavailable to most.

— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 11, 2025

While the geofence in Austin has roughly doubled in size twice during both of Tesla’s expansions of the service area, the company is still playing it safe with rider population growth, something that aligns with its focus on safety.

Musk said recently about the expansion of Robotaxi to customer-owned vehicles:

“As I said, we’re being paranoid about safety. But I guess next year is I’d say confidently next year. I’m not sure when next year, but confidently next year, people would be able to add or subtract their car to the Tesla, Inc. fleet.”

The Robotaxi fleet will, without a doubt, revolutionize the way people view ride-hailing. Tesla seems ready to open it up to the public next month, based on what Musk said, but some changes will have to occur to ensure it goes smoothly.