"A Toaster on Wheels"

Seven years after relocating to Foster City and five years after Amazon acquired it, autonomous-driving company Zoox is introducing its robotaxis in Las Vegas.

Zoox’s first public launch kicks off Wednesday on the Las Vegas strip. The company is offering free rides from a few select locations, with plans to expand more broadly across the city in the coming months. Riders will eventually have to pay, but Zoox said it’s waiting on regulatory approval to take that step.

Amazon is jumping into a market that’s all about the future, but one where Waymo has a major head start, having offered commercial driverless rides since 2020. Earlier this year, Waymo said it surpassed 10 million paid rides, and the company now operates in five cities, with Dallas, Denver, Miami, Seattle and Washington, D.C., coming next year.

Tesla, meanwhile, began testing a limited robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, in June, though with human supervisors on board.

But 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.”

Our driving skills have been eroding, and in 3 to 5 years we foresee being in the market for a self driving vehicle. Waymo and Tesla would've been at the top of our shopping list, but we'll take a look at Zoox. I wonder if they'll give a hometown discount to local customers?

2018: Zoox prototype (Bloomberg photo)