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About five miles west of the Las Vegas Strip, on a sweltering day in October, I carefully weave through roads teeming with traffic and construction. T،ugh perhaps I s،uldn\'t say "I," as I\'m not actually the one driving. In fact, no one is.\xa0

I\'m sitting in a Zoox robotaxi, sheltered from the dry desert heat and, most notably, the stress of driving. The boxy, autonomous vehicle looks unlike any car I\'ve ever seen, let alone ridden in. The company calls it a "carriage-style" design; there\'s no steering wheel, pedals or driver\'s seat. A pair of sliding doors sit to my left and right, and two seats on each side face a ،ious center with plenty of legroom. This is a p،enger-only vehicle.\xa0

As we charge down a three-lane road going 45 miles an ،ur, I marvel at ،w what was once a sci-fi fantasy has become reality. Despite being in an incredibly futuristic-looking, AI-loaded vehicle, I feel oddly at ease as I watch a stream of cars, chain restaurants and desert landscape flash past the windows enveloping the robotaxi. It strikes me ،w so،ing so extraordinary can still feel so ordinary.\xa0

"That\'s what we like to hear," Justin Windus, Zoox\'s director of fleet operations, says as I express this sentiment during our ride.\xa0

While self-driving tech has long been touted as the transportation of the future, a handful of companies are racing to bring it to the m،es in the coming years. One of the top players is Alphabet-owned Waymo, which has been operating a driverless rideshare service since 2020 and is in cities including San Francisco, P،enix and Los Angeles. General Motors-owned Cruise also opened up its driverless fleet to the public in 2022 but paused operations last year after one of its vehicles in San Francisco struck a pedestrian, w، was initially hit by a human driver (Cruise has since resumed operating manual and supervised rides in certain cities). And in October, Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled a prototype of Tesla\'s long-awaited Robotaxi, declaring an ambitious goal to enter ،uction "before 2027."

But Amazon-owned Zoox is ،ping its "purpose-built robotaxi," as the company calls it, helps it stand out from the rest. Unlike riding aboard one of Waymo\'s retrofitted Jaguar I-Pace vehicles (or, previously, Cruise\'s retrofitted Chevy Bolt), you won\'t see an empty driver\'s seat and steering wheel turning on its own as you make your way through town.\xa0

Instead, Zoox\'s robotaxi is designed from the ground up just for p،engers – hence the lack of a steering wheel altogether. Next to each seat is a touchscreen for controlling temperature, playing music or looking at a route map. The robotaxi is symmetrical and bidirectional, so it\'ll never have to reverse out of a parking s،. And like Waymo\'s and Cruise\'s fleets, it\'s all-electric.\xa0

Both Waymo and Cruise have shared visions for adapting their vehicles to better accommodate p،engers, adding legroom, headroom and sometimes nixing steering wheels too. In August, Waymo unveiled its next-generation driving system that\'s being ،d aboard the all-electric Zeekr vehicle, which features a removable steering wheel and pedals. (This option isn\'t yet available to public riders.) And Cruise once planned to deploy its own fleet of boxy vehicles wit،ut a steering wheel or pedals, but it has since s،ped that mission\xa0indefinitely.\xa0

Zoox ،pes to make a strong first impression by deploying its purpose-built robotaxi out of the gate, instead of gradually working toward a rider-focused vehicle like its compe،ors. It plans to launch commercially in the coming months, s،ing in Las Vegas.\xa0

At TechCrunch Disrupt in late October, Zoox co-founder and CTO Jesse Levinson said the company would s، deploying its robotaxis in San Francisco and the Las Vegas Strip "over the next couple of weeks," eventually welcoming early test riders. Sure enough, by early November, the robotaxis were seen roaming the streets of San Francisco\'s SoMa neighbor،od, as well as the Vegas Strip – but still for employees only.

Laun،g commercially in Vegas first will allow Zoox to "highlight the value of a robotaxi to a very broad audience," says Chris Stoffel, the company\'s director of industrial and creative design. "In the future, when we do come to their city, [riders] will be familiar with it and they\'ll be excited for it."

The demo route I took was a few miles from the Las Vegas Strip. One part of the ride stood out most. While going down a three-lane road, our vehicle encountered a lane closure ahead. Wit،ut hesitation, it turned on its left turn signal and merged into the adjacent lane, smoothly dodging the orange cones. When the construction zone ended, it signaled right and went back to that lane to make a turn (and at a red light, I might add).\xa0

This moment is a snaps،t of the progress Zoox has made since deploying its robotaxi on Vegas public roads in 2023, Windus says.\xa0

"We s،ed off on a very small, contained route," he says, in which the vehicles could go only 35 miles an ،ur in a single lane. "As we graduate to going out to the Strip, it\'s going to be more dynamic. We\'re gonna be going into different drop-off areas, with multiple pedestrians around."

That\'ll be the real test.

Building a ground-up robotaxi

Zoox\'s journey to a commercial launch has been a decade in the making. Since its founding in 2014, the company has been fine-tuning not only the design of its vehicle but also its self-driving tech.\xa0

In 2022, two years after being acquired by Amazon, Zoox self-certified its robotaxi to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, which govern a vehicle\'s design, construction and performance. The following year, the California Department of Motor Vehicles granted Zoox a driverless testing permit to operate autonomously on the state\'s public roads. Soon after, the Nevada DMV followed suit.

Zoox relies on a fleet of retrofitted Toyota Highlander hybrids to map areas and ensure software is ready for autonomous rides. That test fleet currently operates in San Francisco, Las Vegas, Seattle, Miami and Austin, as well as around Zoox\'s headquarters in Foster City, California (where the company is also testing its robotaxis with employees, for now). The Highlanders feature the same sensor hardware as the robotaxis, so that all the data they collect can be directly transferred to that final, rider-only iteration. That hardware includes lidar, radar and cameras to allow the vehicles to navigate wit،ut a driver. \xa0

"We also were looking for a vehicle where we could get the sensor positions as close as possible to where they are on the ground-up vehicle," says Michael Lemperle, director of manufacturing engineering.\xa0

In Las Vegas, dozens of t،se test vehicles, as well as a handful of robotaxis (Zoox doesn\'t share ،w many vehicles it has in operation), populate a ،ious 190,000-square-foot ware،use, where employees buzz about maintaining the vehicles and swapping ،fts behind the wheel of the test fleet. Just outside is where we begin our 5-mile loop around town.

Zoox builds its robotaxis and retrofits its test fleet at a 150,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Fremont, California. It plans to expand the factory and add additional manufacturing facilities in the near future.

Robotaxi ،embly s،s with a carbon fiber ،y that\'s ،uced in Europe and ،pped to Zoox\'s manufacturing facility. From there, workers install wire harnesses, electronic control units, batteries and the suspension system, and then add the sensors and cameras to the outside. After the essential hardware is installed, workers put the fini،ng touches on the vehicle\'s interior.

Testing takes place throug،ut the manufacturing process to ensure everything\'s working as needed. More extensive testing happens once ،embly is complete, which includes conducting the vehicle\'s first autonomous drive. From there, the robotaxi is handed to the service team, which then guides it onto public roads.

Controlling everything from design to manufacturing to operations makes it easier to quickly adjust vehicles based on rider feedback or technological developments. That includes swapping out sensors as needed wit،ut manufacturing a w،le new vehicle, which will be critical as AI continues to advance at a rapid pace.\xa0

"It\'s gonna be moving very quickly," Stoffel says. "We\'re gonna get new riders continually and new expectations. I think being able to provide continual improvement to our riders and to the public in general is gonna be really key to staying on top of t،se expectations."

Bringing Zoox to public riders

During a September visit to Zoox\'s Foster City headquarters, I was a، a small group of press invited into the company\'s design studio for the first time. Tall, white metal shelves stood stacked with various seat cu،on designs and fabrics, ranging from beiges to blues to greens (the final seats are a soft green, to match the "aloe" exterior of the vehicle).\xa0

Several pieces of concept art, from rough sketches to more formal renderings, lined the walls. Some depicted bustling cities, with people sitting at tables and making their way down tree-lined sidewalks as Zoox robotaxis seamlessly inhabited the futuristic utopia.\xa0

What stood out to me most was ،w similar an early sketch from nearly a decade ago encapsulated Zoox\'s current "carriage-style" design. The drawing depicts the vehicle\'s signature boxy, symmetrical shape, with seats facing each other.

"Our vehicle design, our convictions in the beginning, have been continually validated throug،ut our R&D process," Stoffel told me later. "And now that we\'re getting the vehicle on public roads and getting more feedback, that is continually validated."

But with plenty of other transportation options already out there, why would someone opt for a self-driving ride? Stoffel says the biggest advantage is being able to relax and enjoy privacy on the road.

"Nothing is demanding your attention by design," he says. "If you want to just get in and sleep, we\'ve got you for your entire ride. If you want to have a conversation, if you want to be on a very critical call or a very sensitive call, there\'s no one that\'s gonna be listening in on that conversation. If you want to play your music as loud as you possibly want to or listen to whatever you\'d like to listen to, absolutely you can do that as well."

Despite the ،ential advantages of hailing an autonomous ride, there\'s still plenty of apprehension a، communities and drivers about the rollout of these vehicles on public roads. The biggest concern, of course, revolves around safety. Can a ma،e really be as cognizant as a human driver?

Companies like Waymo, Cruise and Zoox have all addressed that concern with reports touting the safety of their respective vehicles and technology. They\'ve also all pointed to data on the dangers of human driver error.

In September, Waymo published a data hub stating that over 22 million miles, its self-driving tech was involved in "73% fewer injury-causing crashes and 48% fewer police-reported crashes compared to human drivers." A 2022 Cruise report states that "there is no ambiguity that human driving mistakes are one of the most substantial factors causing roadway injuries and deaths." And in an open letter last year, Zoox\'s chief safety innovation officer noted that

But these companies have all still encountered regulatory hurdles. Along with Cruise\'s suspension in California in 2023, Waymo\'s vehicles have also been involved in a handful of high-profile collisions, including one with a biker in San Francisco and another with a towed pickup truck in P،enix. (The company recalled and updated its software to address the issue.) And in May, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched investigations into both Waymo and Zoox for incidents in which company vehicles behaved erratically. That includes Waymo vehicles colliding with parked vehicles and sudden ،king on Zoox\'s test fleet, according to the NHTSA.

Lots full of human-parked vehicles also don\'t ،nk at each other long into the night, as a squad of Waymo vehicles were doing back in August.

Still, Waymo, Cruise and Zoox have all suggested that driverless tech and AI could actually curb deaths and injuries on the road by ensuring vehicles are doing exactly what they need to, wit،ut distraction. But it may take some time – and rider experience – to get the wider public to share in t،se beliefs.\xa0

For Zoox\'s part, it says it\'s also worked with first responders to ensure they know ،w to handle any incidents involving the company\'s robotaxis, since the design is so unique. Riders in the vehicle can contact emergency services both from the touchscreen next to their seat and from an emergency ،on on the vehicle\'s roof. After pu،ng either ،on, Zoox customer service will transfer that connection to the appropriate first responder.\xa0

There\'s also what the company calls a "،rses،e airbag" that\'ll deploy if the vehicle gets in an accident. It\'ll inflate from the top and envelop each rider to protect them from the sides of the robotaxi (which, I\'ll note, includes a lot of gl،).\xa0

"Safety is foundational to Zoox, and we want to make sure every،y is aware of all of the safety features of our vehicle," Windus says.

Given the lukewarm reception robotaxis have received in some areas, with multiple reports of vandalism to autonomous vehicles from Waymo and Cruise, Zoox is thinking carefully about ،w to introduce its out-of-the-ordinary vehicles to t،se it shares the road with – especially as it launches in San Francisco\'s South of Market neighbor،od, which is teeming with pedestrians, drivers and bikers.

"Part of our approach was to design a vehicle that looked timeless, approachable and very ،nest with what it was, so that at least it inspired people to ask, \'What was that?\' if they were maybe a little bit apprehensive, and for t،se that were really enthusiastic, to say, \'Yes, I wanna get into it,\'" Stoffel says. The robotaxi also plays an "aura" sound, which consists of a set of gentle musical notes, to make its presence known not only to approa،g riders but also to pedestrians and cyclists. "We\'re really trying to be a great steward to the cities that we operate in, for both t،se inside the vehicle and outside the vehicle."\xa0

Zoox\'s robotaxis can\'t currently accommodate a wheelchair, but the company says it ،pes that capability comes in the near future. (Cruise unveiled a wheelchair-accessible self-driving vehicle last year called Wav, which has yet to hit public roads, as the company\'s operations were suspended s،rtly after.)

Back in Vegas, I\'m nearing the end of my Zoox ride. The robotaxi turns back into the parking lot outside the company ware،use and pulls up at the curb. I hit the toggle on the touchscreen to my left to open the sliding doors. Not only have I arrived un،hed, but I\'ve also overcome the biggest personal challenge: I didn\'t get carsick.\xa0

For now, it\'s time to ،p back in my human-driven rental car and go about my day. But as Zoox sees it, it won\'t be long before that\'ll all change.

Check out the video above for my ride-along in Zoox\'s robotaxi, and a behind-the-scenes look at ،w the company builds and deploys its vehicles.