Tesla has secured approval to operate a paid ride-hailing service in Arizona, adding another US state to its expanding mobility operations.

The Arizona Department of Transportation said the automaker applied for authorisation as a transportation network company (TNC) on 13 November.

Tesla was granted the permit after meeting state requirements.

The permit enables the company to charge passengers for rides but does not cover driverless operations, according to a Reuters’ report.

The approval follows a separate Arizona authorisation issued in September, when Tesla gained permission to test autonomous vehicles in the state, provided a safety driver is present. The approval was received under a self-certification framework.

Tesla has also submitted an application to test vehicles without a driver.

The company is ramping up its robotaxi and ride-hailing activities alongside rivals including Alphabet’s Waymo and Amazon-backed Zoox.

In August, Tesla obtained a licence to operate its robotaxi service in Texas from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

That licence, valid through 6 August 2026, underpins an autonomous rideshare pilot launched in Austin in June, deploying a select number of Model Y vehicles supervised by safety monitors.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said last month that the EV manufacturer aims to have robotaxis operating in eight to ten metropolitan areas by the end of this year.

Musk said earlier that the company planned to expand the service to cover roughly half of the US population in the same timeframe.

Beyond its autonomous initiatives, Tesla runs a human-driven, chauffeur-style service in California’s San Francisco Bay Area and holds a permit in Nevada to test self-driving cars on public roads.