A construction zone. Car accident. A truck double parked. A motorcycle policeman with his red, white and blue deployed.
My hour-long journey along the Las Vegas Strip in a custom-built Zoox robotaxi during CES 2025 was anything but boring. A second, shorter walk the following evening proved less adventurous. On both routes, the Zoox robotaxi handled the entire route without issue — and mostly with ease.
And yet, the rides are not over. It’s almost there, and in an autonomous vehicle that’s new, those rides can feel flawless. As an experienced AV tester, I may know too much.
The two runs were still impressive, particularly how the Zoox robotaxi handled complex scenarios or what some might call extreme cases. And most importantly, the rides were normal, although I understand that riding a custom robotaxi without a steering wheel or human driver can hardly be described as conventional.
Zoox co-founder and CTO Jesse Levinson, who joined me on the longer 16-mile ride, aims to make it as common as getting into an Uber or Lyft, but better. It is the focus of Zoox employees working in the Las Vegas warehouse. headquarters in Foster City, California. at the factory in Fremont, California. and offices in Boston, San Diego, Seattle and the United Kingdom
Their progress is remarkable. Since my last ride around Foster City in October, the company has released the next generation Zoox robotaxi, which features a number of upgrades and hardware changes. Levinson told me that hundreds of small changes have been made since the previous generation, including suspension, brakes, electronic drivetrains and more powerful and efficient computers.
Other notable changes include a much-needed cushioned bench, changes to the touchscreen user interface inside the vehicle, and a two-way audio interface on the outside of the door that allows the Zoox operations team to communicate with first responders and law enforcement.
Previous Zoox robotaxis had external speakers. This newer version now has recorded messages, which Zoox employees can trigger if “bad actors” try to mess with the vehicle, according to the company.
The Amazon-owned self-driving vehicle company began testing its custom-built, electric, self-driving robot taxi on public roads in Las Vegas more than a year ago. Zoox started small in June 2023, initially with a one-mile circle around the neighborhood where its Las Vegas facilities are located in the southwest area of the city. It grew from there.
Now the company is testing its robotaxi on public roads around its warehouse, the length of the Strip and some of the streets adjacent to it. Zoox has not opened the robotaxi to the public in Las Vegas. Today, only select media and officials are invited to drive into town, according to Levinson.
Zoox expects to open the rides to the public in Las Vegas and San Francisco in 2025.
Both rides with the Zoox robotaxi felt safe. The vehicle accelerated smoothly and changed lanes confidently and without the stutter or hesitation I’ve experienced on many test drives with other companies over the years.
However, the Zoox still has some areas to improve on the comfort front, and at times the self-driving system made choices you’d expect a less experienced driver to make. For example, in both cases the robotaxi encountered a construction zone, which closed the far right lane. Most human drivers would merge early. The Zoox robotaxi drove up to the cones and then carefully merged into the other lane.
On three occasions during my first ride, the vehicle slowed to a stop at a traffic light and immediately before coming to a complete stop, slammed on the brakes a little too hard. The result was a little annoying, though never unsafe. The suspension is also a bit stiff for what a customer can expect from a premium robotaxi ride.
These little moments were few and short-lived. What stood out, however, was how Zoox handled two complex scenarios involving car accidents. In one instance, the Zoox robotaxi was in the right lane approaching a stop light. As we reached the intersection, the vehicle slowed and stopped several car lengths ahead of the next vehicle. Looking out the window, we realized that the vehicle had just been involved in an accident. There were no hazard lights, but people were milling about and a person, who looked injured, sat on the curb.
Meanwhile, traffic was piling up and leaving little room for escape. Within a minute, the Zoox robotaxi began backing up, slowly, then activated its left indicator and finally merged into the next lane. The whole event lasted less than two minutes.
The ability to operate self-driving cars safely does not guarantee business success. But it is the necessary foundation for building a commercial enterprise. The two rides I took showed that Zoox may be ready for its next big leap: opening it up to the public.
