By Norihiko Shirouzu and Abhirup Roy AUSTIN (Reuters) -Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, has signed legislation requiring a permit to operate self-driving vehicles just before Tesla's planned launch of a robotaxi trial on Sunday in Austin,

In ramping up robotaxi service, Tesla is hoping to slingshot past Waymo, another autonomous car service that operates in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Austin, according to its website. Last week, Waymo applied for a permit to test its vehicles in New York City.

Elon Musk's vision of Tesla's future is set for a public test, when a dozen or so self-driving cars in Austin, Texas start a limited, paid robotaxi service.