Amazon's Zoox wins first US approval for paid robotaxis with no human controls
The exemption allows Zoox to charge riders and deploy up to 2,500 vehicles a year, with extra reporting and state approvals required.
- Amazon-owned Zoox received a temporary exemption from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration allowing it to start offering paid robotaxi rides without human controls in Las Vegas, with plans to expand to other markets as state requirements are met.
- The exemption permits Zoox to deploy up to 2,500 specially designed, steering-wheel-less robotaxis annually over two years under enhanced oversight and safety conditions.
- Zoox’s robotaxis faced a recall of 105 vehicles due to a software issue failing to detect heavy smoke and incidents where the vehicles drove into active emergency scenes, leading to increased regulatory scrutiny and new reporting requirements.
- Zoox CEO Aicha Evans described the exemption as an important milestone, marking the first-ever commercial approval for a purpose-built robotaxi and a significant step in autonomous vehicle commercialization.
157 Articles
157 Articles
America Approves Driverless Cars Without Pedals
Federal safety regulators have quietly opened the door to robotaxis with no steering wheels today — and could soon erase the brake pedal too. Story Snapshot Federal regulators approved Amazon-owned Zoox to run paid robotaxis with no steering wheel or pedals, using a narrow safety exemption. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is proposing...
A robotaxi with no steering wheel just got the green light to charge you for a ride
Federal regulators are clearing the way for robotaxis to operate without manual controls like steering wheels or eventually even brake pedals as the rules start to catch up to the evolving technology. Amazon’s fully autonomous Zoox vehicles got approval Thursday to begin charging customers for rides in the specially designed cars that feature four inward-facing seats once they secure state and local approval. Zoox has already been offering free …
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