Amazon's Zoox Secures First U.S. Waiver for Steering Wheel-Free Robotaxi, Launching Paid Service

On July 30, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced it has granted a temporary exemption to Zoox, Amazon's autonomous vehicle company, allowing it to commercially deploy up to 2,500 purpose-built robotaxis annually in the United States over the next two years without traditional manual controls. This marks the first time NHTSA has issued a commercial temporary exemption for such vehicles. Since last year, Zoox has offered free autonomous ride services in Las Vegas, Nevada, and launched its "Zoox Explorer Program" in San Francisco, California, serving over 500,000 passengers to date. Starting next month, Zoox will transition its Las Vegas service to a paid model.