While Tesla is a popular car for ride-hailing drivers employed by the likes of Uber and more, the company could soon cut out the middleman. The California Public Utilities Commission has approved the company's bid for a transportation charter-party carrier permit, Bloomberg reports.

The permit opens the way for Tesla to operate a ride-hailing service to compete with Uber, Lyft and other established companies. Tesla employees would drive the cars, initially transporting fellow employees, before becoming available to the public. Last year, Elon Musk told investors that the company was already testing app-based transportation for Bay Area employees using safety drivers.

Notably, Tesla is still not approved to use autonomous vehicles for ride-hailing, though Musk has claimed they will be available in Austin, Texas by June and in California by the end of the year. Meanwhile, Uber and Waymo launched their robotaxi service in Austin earlier this month. Waymo's autonomous ride-hailing service is also available in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix.  

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/tesla-gets-approval-for-ride-hailing-business-in-california-125100455.html?src=rss

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