Zoox, a subsidiary of Amazon, announced Monday that its self-driving robotaxis are now being tested on the Las Vegas Strip. Unfortunately, the only riders they’ll be transporting is Zoox employees.
Once they pass muster, the company said in a press release, it hopes to welcome public riders next year as part of the Zoox Explorer program.
“The Strip is one of the most highly trafficked areas in Las Vegas,” the press release stated. “It is full of complex driving scenarios, including more than eight lanes with multiple turning lanes, high speeds, heavy pedestrian traffic, and large-scale intersections.”
If successful, Zoox will be the second company out of the robotaxi gate in Las Vegas. Last year, Motional launched a fully driverless taxi service hailable via the Lyft app, using robotaxis based on the Hyundai IONIQ 5.
Zoox was founded in 2014 by Tim Kentley-Klay and Jesse Levinson in Foster City, Calif. and was acquired by Amazon for $1.2 billion in 2020. They have been testing a fleet of retrofitted Toyota Highlanders around Las Vegas since 2019 — as well as in San Francisco, Seattle, Miami and Austin, Tex.
Zoox has reportedly partnered with the Las Vegas Golden Knights and could be transporting players and staff to T-Mobile Arena beginning next year.
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