(Reuters) -Tesla is seeking approval to offer ride-hailing services in California, a key step by Elon Musk's company to begin carrying paying customers while its traditional car-selling business falters, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.

The company late last year applied for a transportation charter-party carrier permit from the California Public Utilities Commission, Bloomberg reported, citing documents.

That classification means Tesla would own and control the fleet of vehicles.

Tesla and the California Public Utilities Commission did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

Tesla in October revealed a concept for a robotaxi called Cybercab that will come without a steering wheel or control pedals, as it looks to dominate the self-driving vehicle industry.

Musk has said Tesla will start fully unsupervised FSD in Texas and California this year, without offering more details.

The billionaire's proximity to U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is expected to help relax regulation in the sector, including implementing a federal self-driving vehicle policy.

Musk has said the Cybercab will go into production in 2026 and will also be available for customers to buy for less than $30,000.

However, with autonomous technology proving harder and more expensive to solve, industry experts have warned it could take Tesla several years to commercialize a robotaxi.