Bizarre reason why Tesla isn't allowed to use the word 'Robotaxi' in California

Tesla is currently unable to use the term ‘Robotaxi’ in the state of California.

America’s premier EV brand is currently rolling out its ‘Robotaxi’ services across the US.

One state in which Tesla has encountered some difficulty recently is California.

And the brand’s troubles in the Golden State look set to continue, as it has stopped the brand using the term Robotaxi.

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Brand rolls out “Robotaxi” services – but it can’t be called that

Tesla is currently in the process of undergoing a major rollout of its ‘Robotaxi‘ services.

For the past two months, the premier EV brand has been working on providing the cab services.

The first services were rolled out on June 22nd in Austin, Texas.

And now the process is currently being expanded to the state of California.

Except – the service isn’t actually allowed to be referred to as ‘Robotaxi’.

Brand CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter/X last night to update everyone on the news.

And Musk made a very interesting reveal within the post itself.

We are working as quickly as possible to get 100+ Teslas operating for autonomous ride-hailing (can’t use the word “taxi” or “cab” in California) in the Bay Area and allow anyone to request a ride

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 6, 2025

In the post, Musk revealed that Tesla isn’t actually allowed to use the words ‘taxi’ or ‘cab’ in California.

And it’s all due to California legislation that the maker currently doesn’t adhere to.

The rule, enacted by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), does not allow automakers operating pilot programs of driverless services to use the terms ‘cab’ or ‘taxi.’

Based on its website, it appears that the CPUC only allows those terms to be used for cars that are completely driverless.

Tesla currently uses a Safety Monitor in its cars, meaning it is not fully autonomous.

Tesla and California continue to clash

Speaking of California and Tesla’s ‘autonomous’ abilities, this is not the first time the brand and the state have clashed.

The brand is currently embroiled in a legal dispute with California’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

And it all circles back to the claims of Tesla’s autonomous, Full Self-Driving (FSD) abilities.

The DMV argues that the brand has been intentionally misleading regarding its ‘Full Self-Driving’ terminology.

Because Tesla cars still require supervision and intervention, the DMV has argued that it has misled its customers.

If the company is found to have been misleading, it could be in serious trouble.

A potential state-wide ban on selling cars in the state for 30 days could be levied against it, affecting already poor sales.