Tesla moves to expand Robotaxi to Phoenix, following rival Waymo

Tesla has applied to test and operate its Robotaxis in Arizona, CNBC confirmed Thursday

The effort to expand to Arizona comes after Tesla in June began a pilot test of its robotaxis in Austin, Texas

Tesla has applied to conduct autonomous vehicle testing and operations, with and without human safety drivers on board, in Arizona, a spokesperson for the Arizona Department of Transportation told CNBC on Thursday

A decision on the application is expected at the end of July, and Tesla has "expressed interest in operating within the Phoenix Metro area," the spokesperson said via

Reuters first reported Tesla's Arizona ambitions

The effort to expand to Arizona comes after Tesla in June began a pilot test of its robotaxis in Austin, Texas

Tesla's Austin fleet includes Model Y SUVs that are equipped with the company's newest, automated driving systems

Those vehicles are remotely supervised by employees in an undisclosed operations center, and they each include a human safety supervisor who rides with passengers

The safety supervisor sits in the front passenger seat, accompanying riders, who are invited fans of Tesla

The supervisor can intervene should the Tesla Robotaxis get into trouble

Tesla, which was once seen as a self-driving pioneer, is now working to catch up to Waymo

The companies have distinct apaches to self-driving nology

Tesla claims its choice to mostly use cameras instead of expensive sensors lidar will make its autonomous vehicles more economically viable

The Musk company's initial efforts in Austin have run into issues

One invited passenger, who runs a Tesla-focused YouTube channel called Dirty Tesla, captured an incident on camera where his Robotaxi dinged a parked car outside of a restaurant

Other incidents where Tesla Robotaxis violated rules of the road in Austin have also been captured on camera and circulated on social media, drawing regulatory scrutiny from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the federal vehicle safety agency

Tesla is scheduled to hold a second-quarter earnings call on July 23, during which executives are expected to discuss the initial Robotaxi pilot

Separately, Musk on Wednesday said on X that Tesla's Robotaxi service will expand to the San Francisco Bay Area "bably in a month or two. "The California Department of Motor Vehicles sued Tesla in 2022 alleging that the company made false claims in marketing and advertising its vehicles' self-driving capabilities

WATCH: We went to Texas for Tesla's robotaxi launch

Here's what we sawAutos.