Five years after its $1.3 billion acquisition of Zoox, Amazon has officially entered the U.S. robotaxi race, which to date has been dominated by Alphabet’s Waymo. Zoox’s first public launch kicks off today on the Las Vegas strip. The company is offering free rides from a few select locations, with plans to expand more broadly across the city in the coming months. Riders will eventually have to pay, but Zoox said it’s waiting on regulatory approval to take that step. Amazon is jumping into a market that’s all about the future, but one where Waymo has a major head start, having offered commercial driverless rides since 2020 in multiple cities around the U.S. Tesla, meanwhile, began testing a limited robotaxi service in Austin in June, though with human supervisors on board.
But unlike Waymo and Tesla, Zoox’s electric robotaxi doesn’t resemble a car. There’s no steering wheel or pedals. Zoox has spent the past decade developing the symmetrical EV, which it manufactures in California. CNBC’s Salvador Rodriguez got an exclusive ride along in the autonomous vehicle with Zoox co-founder and technology chief Jesse Levinson, and spoke with Zoox CEO Aicha Evans, to find out why this launch is such a big step for the company.
Senior Director: Jeniece Pettitt
Produced by: Andrew Evers
Edited by: Nic Golden Henry
Reporter: Salvador Rodriguez
Additional Editing: Erin Black
Animation: Jason Reginato
Additional Footage: Zoox, Getty Images
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