NHTSA grants Zoox commercial exemption for paid purpose-built robotaxis

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has granted Amazon subsidiary Zoox a commercial exemption to deploy custom, purpose-built electric robotaxis as a paid ride-hailing service, New Atlas reported. According to the report, it is the first time U.S. federal regulators have cleared a passenger vehicle built without human driving controls. The Zoox vehicle has no steering wheel, brake pedal, accelerator, or rearview mirrors. NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison said the systems in place on the Zoox exceed the equivalent performance requirements of a compliant vehicle. Under an adaptable oversight structure described in the report, Zoox must instantly report data on crashes, software lockups, or incidents where a vehicle inappropriately stops and blocks traffic, and NHTSA can revoke the exemption if systemic safety issues emerge. New Atlas said free public testing of Zoox pods has been underway in Las Vegas and San Francisco for more than a year, with hundreds of thousands of miles and around half a million passengers. The commercial launch is set to begin in Las Vegas, with paid rides via the Zoox app. The bidirectional vehicle has face-to-face bench seating, dual-axle independent steering, and a 75-mph top speed.