The electric vehicle market is progressing slowly as Americans struggle to move past gas-powered cars. And yet, some companies are already planning the next step: driverless EVs.
That's the bet of California-based Zoox, which chose to develop a specific fleet of EVs with no steering wheel or pedals, Electrek reported in November.
"Designed for AI to drive, and humans to enjoy," Zoox, an Amazon subsidiary, writes on its website.
EVs can help improve air quality by curtailing overall greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector, which in 2022 was making up for the largest share of U.S. emissions.
Now, Zoox hopes that creating autonomous electric robotaxis will reduce both pollution and congestion in dense cities.
After recording successful test rides on public roads at speeds up to 45 mph in Foster City, California, and Las Vegas, Zoox is rolling into San Francisco, where it has started to test its robotaxis and offer driverless rides to local residents, per Electrek.
"This marks our entrance with the robotaxi into our second commercial market," Zoox CEO Aicha Evans said in a November blog post. "Since 2017, our test fleet has autonomously navigated San Francisco streets with a safety driver. Now that we've passed all critical safety measures, we are excited to begin testing our robotaxi in this wonderful city," she added.
The firm did not share a timeline for San Francisco's market, but it intends to operate paid public rides in Las Vegas in 2025.
Elon Musk's Tesla, which Reuters has reported is facing regulatory and technical hurdles in its robotaxi line, has a little catching up to do.
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Part of the online community is already excited by the idea of taking Zoox's bidirectional cabs.
"[It] might just be the future of personal travel!," TikToker Supercar Blondie (@supercarblondie) wrote as a caption to their video introducing the vehicle. "As you can see, you've got four seats facing each other," they explain. "It was inspired by a 19th century-horse carriage," they add. "Radar technology, Lidar, cameras, thermal imaging. This is a Zoox."
Commenters are not as convinced.
"The taxi driver just lost his job," one TikTok user said. "So who gets the ticket?" a second one asked.
"Wait till hackers decide to take you for a joy ride. It's a computer on wheels," another pointed out.
Others also flagged that Waymo, the former Google's self-driving car project, was already offering such service in San Francisco.
If you're keen on trying, Zoox is already recruiting its first riders.
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