Amazon's Zoox launches its robotaxi service in Las Vegas
[September 11, 2025] By
MICHAEL LIEDTKE
Amazon's Zoox on Wednesday launched its robotaxi service in Las Vegas,
offering free rides through parts of the entertainment mecca for anyone
willing to gamble on the safety of a driverless vehicle that operates
without a steering wheel.
The Las Vegas debut of Zoox's long-planned ride-hailing service reflects
Amazon-owned robotaxi maker's confidence in the safety of its boxy
vehicles after two years of testing them in the city.
The robotaxis initially were only available to employees in Las Vegas
before gradually expanding to friends and family members. Now, anyone
with the Zoox app will be able to request a ride to five designated
locations, including Resorts World, the Luxor hotel and the New York-New
York hotel. The longest distance the Zoox robotaxis will travel is about
three miles (4.8 kilometers) while carrying up to four passengers.
All rides will be provided for free for at least the first few months to
help promote the existence of the service in the perennially popular
travel destination. Once it begins charging for rides in Las Vegas, Zoox
says its prices will be comparable to traditional taxis and ride-hailing
services like Uber and Lyft.
Zoox can afford to give free rides largely because of Amazon's deep
pockets. The e-commerce powerhouse, currently worth $2.5 trillion,
bought Zoox for $1.2 billion five years ago as part of its efforts to
establish a foothold in other fields of technology.
The Las Vegas market marks Zoox's first step in its attempt to catch up
with robotaxi leader Waymo, a Google spin-off that offers that already
provides driverless rides in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles,
Phoenix, Atlanta and Austin, Texas (where Tesla is still in the testing
phase of a robotaxi service that its CEO, Elon Musk, has been hyping for
the past decade).
[to top of second column] |
Amazon-Zoox robotaxis are beginning to give free rides through parts
of Las Vegas as part of its driverless service's launch. (Zoox Inc.
via AP)
 While Waymo implants its driverless
technology in vehicles built by traditional automakers, Zoox is
manufacturing its distinctively designed robotaxis in a former bus
factory located in Hayward, California — about 25 miles (40
kilometers) southeast of San Francisco.
In a sign of its ambitions, Zoox hopes to manufacture as many as
10,000 robotaxis annually as it expands into other markets. While
the company is currently testing its vehicles in San Francisco, it
hopes to open up its service to all passengers next year. Some San
Francisco passengers who signed up for Zoox's testing program are
expected to be able to start getting driverless rides before the end
of this year.
Zoox is currently operating about 50 vehicles in Las Vegas and San
Francisco, with most of them in Nevada for now. After it starts
charging for rides in San Francisco, Zoox hopes to expand to Austin
and Miami next.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
