Driverless 'robotaxis' take to the streets in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — The company Zoox says it has deployed its robotaxi with passengers on public roads in Las Vegas.

The vehicle has been operating on valley streets since Friday, June 16, the first time that "a fully driverless purpose-built robotaxi" operated on public roads in the state, according to a press release.

Zoox, an independent subsidiary of Amazon, says its vehicle does not have a steering wheel or pedals. The company had to complete rigorous testing and get authorization from the Department of Motor Vehicles to test-drive the robotaxis in Nevada.

Its robotaxis first started operating on public roads earlier this year in Foster City, California, a Bay Area suburb south of San Francisco.

To start, the vehicle will operate on an approximately one-mile loop around Zoox's Las Vegas headquarters, traveling up to 35 miles per hour. The vehicle will have to navigate several unprotected turns and multi-way stops on this route, which includes other cars, pedestrians and cyclists.

"Deploying our robotaxi on open public roads in California and now Nevada is a big step for Zoox," Jess Levinson, Zoox's co-founder and chief technology officer, said in a statement. "Driving autonomously in these two unique but equally challenging locations will provide us with invaluable learnings as we fine-tune our technology in preparation for commercial launch."

The company says it will also add more than 190,000 square feet of warehouse space in Las Vegas to house the robotaxi fleet and testing, along with more than 16,000 square feet of office space.