Amazon's Zoox Launches Robotaxi Service In Las Vegas (cnbc.com)
- Reference: 0179148448
- News link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/09/10/228250/amazons-zoox-launches-robotaxi-service-in-las-vegas
- Source link: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/10/amazons-zoox-jumps-into-us-robotaxi-race-with-las-vegas-launch-.html
> ... unlike Waymo and Tesla, Zoox's electric robotaxi doesn't resemble a car. There's no steering wheel or pedals, and the rectangular shape has led many in the industry to describe it as a toaster on wheels. Zoox co-founder and technology chief Jesse Levinson says, "We use robotaxi or vehicle or Zoox." "You can shoehorn a robotaxi into something that used to be a car. It's just not an ideal solution," Levinson told CNBC in an interview in Las Vegas. "We wanted to do that hard work and take the time and invest in that, and then bring something to market that's just much better than a car."
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> Zoox was founded in 2014, five years after Google formed the project that became Waymo. Following Las Vegas, the company said it plans to debut an early rider program in San Francisco before the end of the year. The company has been testing a fleet of 50 robotaxis in San Francisco and Las Vegas. Austin and Miami will be Zoox's next locations, the company said. Zoox will soon begin testing robotaxis in those markets, and said it's already driving retrofitted test vehicles in Los Angeles, Atlanta and Seattle. "We think it's very, very early days, and the future is not written yet," said Levinson, during a demo ride with CNBC.
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> Zoox's Las Vegas depot spans 190,000 square feet, which is about the size of three football fields. At the facility, the company houses the dozens of vehicles set to start operating around the city. Smartphone users will be able to order them from Top Golf, Area15, Resorts World Las Vegas, New York-New York Hotel & Casino and Luxor Hotel & Casino. The robotaxi features two rows of seats that face each other and can transport up to four people at a time. The front and rear are identical, with bidirectional wheels that allow it to move forward or backward without turning around. The vehicle can run for 16 hours on a single charge. Floor-to-ceiling windows provide a sightseeing experience for passengers who want a clear view of the endless rows of casinos. But the interior design is meant to enable easy conversation with fellow riders. "It's not a retrofitted car," said Zoox CEO Aicha Evans. "It's built from the ground up around the rider."
[1] https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/10/amazons-zoox-jumps-into-us-robotaxi-race-with-las-vegas-launch-.html
So? (Score:2)
Zoox has always been a stupid fucking idea. They blew BILLIONS of investment before Amazon bailed their failing accomplished nothing asses out. They have virtually nothing to show for it.
Re: (Score:2)
> Zoox has always been a stupid fucking idea.
They could make sense in a lot of areas, basically anywhere densely populated which allows cars. My favorite way to get around Vegas has been by minivan taxi, which is really the traditional conveyance most similar to what Zoox is offering. I have had some really excellently spirited rides in yellow Toyota Previas. I wonder if they were the supercharged models...
Anyhoo billions should be embarrassing, but vehicles like this are an extremely probable future of inner city transit, because we so frequently ref
Can't compete with Tesla (Score:2)
Nobody can compete with Tesla on this. Once Tesla owners can simply add their vehicle to the robotaxi network, how will anyone be able to compete with that? Perhaps Benz or GM can in about 5 to 10 years .. assuming they can not go bankrupt in between.
can you get an dui in one / who (under the law) is (Score:2)
can you get an dui in one / who (under the law) is deemed in control?
Re: (Score:2)
> can you get an dui in one / who (under the law) is deemed in control?
This hasn't been tested yet legally.
However, if operator guidance is needed (autodrive levels 1, 2, and 3, driver must remain engaged), then you are operating the vehicle and can be charged.
For levels 4 and 5, if you're behind the wheel and could turn off the autodrive features, legal opinion is that you can still be charged (you're effectively in control).
If you're not in the driver's seat and the car is level 4 and 5 (and autodriving), then there's a strong legal argument that you're not operating the veh
Re: (Score:2)
Zoox doesn't have a steering wheel or pedals. You do not have control of it (except for the emergency red stop button).
Right now, Zoox can not even deviate from a hardcoded preprogrammed route, so it's a long ways to be true self-driving either.
Notice how the routes it does in San Francisco or in Vegas are always the same circuits.
Getting a DUI on it wouldn't make any sense.