A Zoox robotaxi is seen driving on Nov. 19, 2025 in San Francisco, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
Amazon-owned Zoox on Thursday received a temporary exemption from U.S. regulators, paving the way for the company to start offering paid robotaxi rides.
The exemption from some National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rules allows Zoox to deploy up to 2,500 vehicles annually for two years, “subject to an enhanced, adaptable oversight structure that can evolve as Zoox’s technology advances,” the agency said in a release.
Zoox CEO Aicha Evans said in a statement that the move represents an “important milestone” for the company and the broader autonomous vehicle industry.
“We are honored to receive the first-ever commercial exemption for a purpose-built robotaxi from NHTSA, enabling us to begin charging for our service and take another step toward bringing autonomous ride-hailing to more communities,” Evans said.
A Zoox spokesperson said the company will start paid rides in Las Vegas next month, with additional markets to follow as it meets state commercialization requirements.
Last August, NHTSA granted Zoox an exemption that allowed the company to demonstrate its robotaxis on public roads, but it still lacked the necessary clearance to begin charging fares. Since then, it has expanded the number of U.S. testing locations, and allowed members of the public to hail free driverless rides in parts of San Francisco and Las Vegas.
Zoox has faced a more difficult path to commercializing its robotaxi compared to rivals. Unlike Alphabet‘s Waymo, which has relied on retrofitted cars with a steering wheel and brakes, Zoox uses toaster-shaped shuttles that lack traditional driver controls, which means it’s subject to different federal motor vehicle safety standards.
NHTSA has recently proposed updating its standards to end requirements that driverless cars include steering wheels and manual brake pedals.
The regulator has also called on AV developers to ensure their vehicles don’t interfere with first responders.
NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison wrote in a letter earlier this month that the agency has “identified a clear pattern of driverless AVs interfering with law enforcement and other first responders,” citing incidents where AVs drove into active emergency scenes, blocked the paths of ambulances or firefighters, or failed to recognize or respond to flashing lights, flares, smoke, fire and traffic cones.
Following the letter, Zoox recalled 105 of its robotaxis to address a software issue where the vehicles failed to properly detect heavy smoke and drove into it. Last month, one of its robotaxis drove into an active emergency fire scene in Las Vegas, the company said.
