In the United States, commercial operation has been approved for the first passenger car originally designed without human controls: it has no steering wheel, accelerator or brake pedals, or familiar rear-view mirrors. Amazon-owned Zoox has received permission to run its electric robotaxis commercially.
Until now, safety rules have largely assumed that a person is driving the car, so fully driverless vehicles faced formal restrictions. Zoox received a temporary exemption by proving that other safety systems compensate for the absence of traditional controls. At the same time, the company must report crashes, software failures and incorrect stops. If systemic problems are found, the approval can be revoked.
During public testing, the robotaxis have already carried about 500,000 passengers. Commercial launch will begin in Las Vegas, where the cars can be ordered through the Zoox app.
