Amazon’s Toaster-Shaped Robotaxis Are Hitting the Road
The company is the first to charge for rides in its autonomous vehicle without a steering wheel, dashboard or pedals
By Ellie Davis, The Wall Street Journal, Aug. 23, 2026
Amazon’s Toaster-Shaped Robotaxis Are Hitting the Road
The company is the first to charge for rides in its autonomous vehicle without a steering wheel, dashboard or pedals
By
Aug. 23, 2026 7:00 pm ET
Zoox robotaxis have logged more than three million driverless miles on public roads. Heather Diehl/Getty Images
- Amazon’s Zoox has started charging for rides in Las Vegas and operating in San Francisco using robotaxis without steering wheels or pedals.
- The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration recently authorized Zoox to charge for rides in up to 5,000 vehicles over two years.
- Federal regulators barred Zoox taxis from operating on roads with heavy rain, snow, large quantities of leaves or speed limits above 45 mph.
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- Amazon’s Zoox has started charging for rides in Las Vegas and operating in San Francisco using robotaxis without steering wheels or pedals.View more
Toaster-shaped taxis that don’t have a driver or a steering wheel have started rolling across San Francisco and charging for rides in Las Vegas.
The all-electric cars are the first robotaxis offering rides on the roads without standard driver features like a dashboard and pedals. They can drive in either direction and hold up to four passengers who sit facing each other. Windows stretch across much of the sides. The vehicles are called Zoox and they come from a new entrant in robotaxis: Amazon.com…
It is a risky move. Alphabet’s Waymo, the early leader with roughly 4,000 vehicles operating in various cities, and Tesla provide stiff competition. Tesla has started volume production of the Cybercab, which lacks a steering wheel and pedals, but the company hasn’t gotten the same regulatory approval as Zoox to begin offering rides to the public…
The company’s fleet today counts about 100 vehicles. …[end quote]
With the tech giants going head-to-head on driverless technology, progress is bound to accelerate.
Wendy