AIBRIEF
A two year federal exemption covering up to 2,500 vehicles lets Amazon's Zoox charge for rides in its steering wheel free robotaxi.
Amazon-owned Zoox will start charging for robotaxi rides in Las Vegas on Aug. 10, ending nearly a year of free public service.
The paid service is enabled by a two-year exemption the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued last week. The carve-out covers up to 2,500 vehicles and spans eight federal motor-vehicle safety standards, including windshield defrosting and light-vehicle braking. A separate exemption issued last year let Zoox run free demonstration rides; the new one is what unlocks fare-charging.
Zoox's vehicle is a purpose-built electric cube with a moonroof, designed from the start as a robotaxi rather than retrofitted from a consumer car. The company was founded in 2014 as a Silicon Valley self-driving startup and acquired by Amazon in 2020.
Fares will follow a base-fare-plus-distance-and-time model, calculated on the best available route and shown to riders before booking. The price is locked even if the actual route differs, and destination fees may apply to airport runs and high-traffic venues like the Sphere or T-Mobile Arena.
Zoox still runs free service in San Francisco and Austin. In California the company still needs two more state permits before it can charge for rides.