The robotaxi map is a law map.
Every US metro with driverless service today sits in a state whose legislature said yes first — most of them years ago, in two or three pages of statute. And every big city still waiting — Boston and New York above all — is waiting on a law, not on the technology. Here is where each side actually stands, with citations, and what a would-be owner in a waiting state can do about it today.
The open tier: driverless is legal, with little or no paperwork
| State | The rule | On the road |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | FS §316.85 — no human operator required, no state AV permit of any kind. The most permissive statute in the country; see the full breakdown. | Tesla runs driverless in Miami, Orlando and Tampa; Waymo in Miami and Orlando, with Tampa announced. |
| Texas | SB 2205 (2017) authorized driverless operation statewide and barred city-by-city rules; under SB 2807, a TxDMV authorization for commercial operators became enforceable May 28, 2026. | Austin, Dallas and Houston ride driverless today; San Antonio too, by rolling invitation. |
| Colorado | C.R.S. 42-4-242 (2017) — no AV permit exists; approval is required only for systems that cannot yet comply with traffic law. Operator-mandate bills were vetoed in 2025 and 2026. | Waymo drives Denver driverless today with employee riders only; public opening expected soon. |
| Tennessee | Automated Vehicles Act (2017) — driverless permitted, no permit; a motor vehicle manufacturer self-certifies by letter and local rules are preempted. | Waymo has been open to everyone in Nashville since June 25, 2026. |
| Michigan | The 2016 package permits automated vehicles on public roads with no person inside — details on the Detroit page. | Waymo has announced Detroit for before the end of 2026. |
| Arizona | Notice-based regime — operators file with the state rather than seeking a permit. | Waymo’s oldest market: Phoenix, driverless since before anywhere else. |
| Nevada | NRS 482A certificate filings; the state approved Tesla for up to 5,000 Clark County robotaxis on August 20, 2026. | Zoox charges fares in Las Vegas; Tesla approved for up to 5,000 vehicles; Waymo drives employee riders. |
| Georgia | Service predates controversy — the proof is on the road rather than in a fight. | Waymo has run driverless in Atlanta since 2025. |
The permit ladder: legal, but you climb
California allows robotaxis — Waymo’s Bay Area and Los Angeles services prove it — but through a multi-step DMV and CPUC permit ladder rather than a single yes. The practical effect shows up in who operates what: as of the DMV’s May 8, 2026 lists, Tesla held only a testing-with-a-driver permit there, which is why its Bay Area rides run with safety drivers under a TCP permit while its Texas and Florida services run unsupervised. Same company, same software, different statutes.
The waiting rooms: Massachusetts and New York
If you live in Boston or New York, here is the honest version, because you will not read it from anyone selling you something else: it could be a while, and nobody can tell you how long.
Massachusetts has never passed an AV law. The entire framework is Executive Order 572, signed in October 2016, which authorizes supervised testing — and the testing agreement requires a human being inside the vehicle at all times. Both bills that would have created a real framework, H.3634 and S.2379, were sent to study in 2026 (April 6 and July 31 respectively, the Senate bill on the final day of formal sessions) — which is how Beacon Hill shelves a bill. Waymo began mapping Boston in February 2026 and said itself that it will first need the state to legalize fully autonomous vehicles. Translation: refile next session, then committee, then a vote. Nobody serious will promise you a year.
New York is closed statewide — not just the city. The state’s only AV provision is a 2017 supervised-testing law, and this year’s enacted budget did exactly one thing to it: extended its expiration to April 1, 2028. Governor Hochul proposed legalizing commercial robotaxis outside New York City on January 13, 2026; the proposal was withdrawn on February 19, 2026 when the legislative support wasn’t there. Until a new bill passes, commercial driverless for-hire service is not legal anywhere in the state — Buffalo and Brooklyn are in the same room.
What an owner in a waiting state can do today
Here is the thing the law map cannot block: you do not have to live where your car earns. DockDuty’s model is own-from-anywhere — you buy the Cybercab, it lives and earns at a DockDuty depot in a state that already said yes (depot #1 is targeted for Greater Orlando, in the most permissive AV state in the country), and you watch it from Boston, Brooklyn, or anywhere else on the same dashboard our founding owners use today. Owning from another state is not a workaround; it’s the design.
- Reserve a stall today — $450, fully refundable until your Cybercab is onboarded, credited in full against the $1,000 onboarding fee.
- Elect your home metro as your preferred market in the flow — if your state opens later, your preference is already on file.
- Run the numbers first with the earnings calculator. Projections, not guarantees: nobody has fleet-scale Cybercab earnings history yet, including us.
The waiting-state list
If your state is in a waiting room, this list is how you hear about it the day that changes. One email if your state’s law moves or a depot near you goes from roadmap to real. No drip sequence, and one-click unsubscribe.
Already sure? You can skip the list and reserve a network stall now — own from anywhere, the car earns at the depot.
Frequently asked questions
Are robotaxis legal in New York?
No — anywhere in the state, and that includes but is not limited to New York City. New York’s only AV law is a 2017 supervised-testing provision, and the enacted FY2026-27 budget did nothing to it except extend its expiration to April 1, 2028. Governor Hochul proposed legalizing commercial robotaxis outside New York City on January 13, 2026, and the proposal was withdrawn on February 19, 2026 after it became clear the legislative support was not there. Until a new bill passes, commercial driverless for-hire service is not legal anywhere in New York.
Are robotaxis legal in Massachusetts?
Not yet. Massachusetts has never passed an AV statute; the whole framework is a 2016 executive order that authorizes supervised testing, and the testing agreement requires a human inside the vehicle at all times. Both bills that would have created a real framework were sent to study in 2026 — the House bill on April 6, the Senate bill on July 31, the final day of formal sessions — which is how Massachusetts shelves a bill. Waymo announced Boston mapping in February 2026 while saying plainly that the state must legalize fully autonomous vehicles before it can offer rides. Timing is now a next-session question at the earliest.
Which states allow driverless robotaxis in 2026?
The open tier, where driverless is legal with little or no paperwork: Florida (FS 316.85 — no human operator required, no state AV permit), Texas (SB 2205 authorized driverless statewide in 2017; a TxDMV authorization for commercial operators became enforceable May 28, 2026), Colorado (C.R.S. 42-4-242 — no permit for a system that can comply with traffic law), Tennessee (manufacturer self-certification by letter, no permit), Michigan (driverless permitted since 2016), Arizona (notice-based regime) and Nevada (certificate filings; Nevada approved Tesla for up to 5,000 Las Vegas-area vehicles in August 2026). Georgia hosts live driverless service in Atlanta. California allows robotaxis but through a multi-step DMV and CPUC permit ladder. Massachusetts and New York do not yet allow commercial driverless service at all.
Can I own a robotaxi if my state does not allow them?
Yes — because the car does not have to earn where you live. DockDuty’s model is own-from-anywhere: you buy the Cybercab, it lives and earns at a DockDuty depot in a state where driverless operation is legal (depot #1 is targeted for Greater Orlando, in the most permissive AV state in the country), and you collect from wherever you are — Boston, Brooklyn, or overseas. A reservation is $450, fully refundable until your Cybercab is onboarded. If your state later opens, your preferred market is already on file.
The law decides where the cars drive. Not who owns them.
Reserve a network stall for $450 — fully refundable until your Cybercab is onboarded, credited in full against the $1,000 onboarding fee. Elect your metro as your preferred market in the flow.
Own from anywhere — the car earns at the depot. You don't have to live in Florida, or even in the US.