Nov 18 (Reuters) - Tesla has received a permit

to operate a ride-hailing service in Arizona, a state regulator

said on Tuesday, in a step toward the electric vehicle maker's

plans of running a self-driving robotaxi service.

Tesla this year launched a robotaxi service in Austin,

Texas, with a safety monitor in the front passenger seat,

followed by a ride-hailing service in the San Francisco Bay Area

with human drivers using a version of its Full Self-Driving

software.

CEO Elon Musk has said the company would operate robotaxis

in eight to 10 metro areas by the end of the year. Tesla aims to

eventually take the drivers and monitors out of the vehicles.

The Transportation Network Company (TNC) permit in Arizona

will allow Tesla to run an Uber-like operation and charge

passengers, but does not let it operate driverless vehicles.

Under a self-certification process, Tesla, in September, got a

permit from the state to test and operate its autonomous

vehicles with a safety driver.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for

comment.

The company had also applied for a permit to test without a

driver and expressed interest in operating within the Phoenix

Metro area, Arizona's Department of Transportation said in July.

After years of missed promises and several company closures

due to high costs, tight regulations and federal investigations,

the robotaxi industry has rebounded with Tesla, Alphabet's

Waymo and Amazon's ( AMZN ) Zoox speeding up

expansion.

Tesla, which applied for the Arizona TNC authorization on

November 13, met the requirements and received the permit on

November 17, the state's DOT said in a statement.