Zoox Is Expanding to Austin and Miami—But Can't Charge Passengers Until 2026

Zoox is not a car company trying to add self-driving software. It is a robotaxi company that built a car for nobody to drive — and now it wants to put those cars in Austin and Miami.

The Amazon-owned autonomous vehicle startup announced Tuesday that it will begin offering free rides in both cities later this year, marking its first expansion beyond Las Vegas and San Francisco since launching its consumer service roughly a year ago. This is a demonstration program, not a commercial launch: Zoox cannot legally charge passengers until it receives a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards exemption from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and that decision is not expected until after a public comment period closes April 10, 2026.

The company also disclosed it is quadrupling its San Francisco service area, doubling destinations in Las Vegas, and preparing to test at Harry Reid International Airport — all before a single commercial fare has been collected, according to TechCrunch.

Zoox has been operating under a demonstration exemption from NHTSA that permits free rides only. In August, it petitioned the agency for exemptions from eight FMVSS standards — covering windshield wipers, brake systems, occupant crash protection, and other requirements designed for human-driven vehicles — so it can launch a paid service with its purpose-built robotaxis, which have no steering wheel, no pedals, and no driver's seat. NHTSA opened a 30-day public comment period on March 11; comments close April 10. The agency will then decide whether to grant Zoox an exemption under the statutory cap of up to 2,500 vehicles per manufacturer annually, according to Reuters. That threshold would give the company meaningful room to scale if approved.

The timing of Tuesday's announcement is notable alongside that regulatory calendar. Zoox is 12 years old. It has driven nearly two million autonomous miles and carried more than 350,000 riders, according to the company. It has a partnership with Uber to put its robotaxis on the ride-hail giant's app in Las Vegas starting this summer, per TechCrunch. But it remains a roughly 100-vehicle operation — a rounding error compared to Waymo, Alphabet's autonomous vehicle subsidiary, which has more than 1,500 vehicles on the road and is currently delivering roughly 400,000 rides per week across six major U.S. metros, Waymo said in a February 2026 post. The company has flagged 20-plus additional cities as a potential planning horizon — not a confirmed expansion list.

The FMVSS exemption is the most consequential near-term variable for Zoox. Without it, the company is running a very expensive pilot. With it — and assuming NHTSA approves at or near the 2,500-vehicle cap — Zoox would have meaningful room to scale. NHTSA has not previously granted an exemption of this scope to a purpose-built vehicle without traditional controls. The comment period is Zoox's chance to build a public record; the outcome will determine whether 2026 is the year it finally becomes a real business.

The Uber partnership is the other thing worth watching. Zoox and Uber announced a multi-year strategic partnership Wednesday, making Zoox's purpose-built vehicles available to hail through the Uber app in Las Vegas, according to Reuters and TechCrunch. CEO Aicha Evans told CNBC the Zoox app will remain primary for the foreseeable future, but the dynamic is worth tracking: Uber has cut deals with Waymo, Aurora, and others as part of a strategy to avoid being displaced by autonomy. Zoox's value to Uber partly stems from Amazon's backing — Amazon acquired Zoox in 2020 for a reported $1.3 billion, a purchase that gave the tech giant both AV technology and a direct line into urban logistics.

For Austin and Miami residents, the practical question is when, not whether. Zoox will begin by deploying a small area in each city, initially limiting rides to employees, their families, and friends before opening to the public through its Explorer waitlist. Five hundred thousand people have already signed up, per CNBC.

What to watch: the NHTSA exemption decision, expected after the April 10 comment period closes. If granted, Zoox can begin charging in Las Vegas — where it has the most operating history — and the Austin and Miami launches become commercially meaningful. If denied or limited to a much smaller fleet, the expansion is a patience test: another year of demonstration rides while Waymo widens its head start.