Story perspectives

NHTSA Grants Zoox 2,500-Robotaxi Exemption, Vegas Launch Next Month

7/31/2026

Summary

Story summary

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration granted Amazon-owned Zoox a temporary exemption to operate up to 2,500 driverless robotaxis per year for two years under enhanced oversight.
The exemption allows Zoox to begin charging passengers, with paid service slated to start in Las Vegas next month.
Zoox’s robotaxi lacks a steering wheel, pedals, driver’s seat and mirrors, seats four in two inward-facing rows, and can reach 75 mph (120 km/h).

History

Historical Context

After Nevada’s DMV issued the first U.S. self-driving license in May 2012 to Google’s modified Prius, California later granted Waymo permits for driverless testing, while Google logged over 500,000 autonomous miles by 2015. Today, the framework is being applied to robotaxi trials in Las Vegas, mirroring the limited-scale testing that began with Google.

1 of 2

Story summary

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration granted Amazon-owned Zoox a temporary exemption to operate up to 2,500 driverless robotaxis per year for two years under enhanced oversight.
The exemption allows Zoox to begin charging passengers, with paid service slated to start in Las Vegas next month.
Zoox’s robotaxi lacks a steering wheel, pedals, driver’s seat and mirrors, seats four in two inward-facing rows, and can reach 75 mph (120 km/h).

1 / 2