Zoox brings commercial robotaxis to Las Vegas airport

Beginning Thursday, passengers at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas will be able to hail a commercial Zoox robotaxi near baggage claim. The Amazon-owned company says its vehicles will pick up and drop off riders at both terminals. The car arriving at the curb has an unusual absence: no steering wheel and no pedals.

Zoox has spent more than a decade developing its self-driving system and custom-built robotaxi. The company had already provided rides to Las Vegas customers for a year, but those trips did not yet make it a true commercial robotaxi service. The shift came in August, when Zoox received permission to operate and charge for rides under a temporary federal safety exemption.

That exemption lasts two years, allows Zoox to deploy up to 2,500 vehicles and spans eight federal motor-vehicle standards, including windshield defrosting and light-vehicle braking systems. Zoox started charging on August 10, said it would test its vehicles in San Diego and Houston, and released its safety framework. Together, the moves point to Zoox ramping up operations.

So, concretely, the airport launch changes where a visitor picks up a ride from the airport into Las Vegas. Zoox’s pickup and drop-off points will be near baggage claim. Uber and Lyft can drop passengers at the terminal curb, but their pickup location is about a five- to ten-minute walk from baggage claim, on the upper floor of a nearby parking garage.

Zoox has an early airport advantage, but the market is already filling around it. It is currently the only robotaxi company operating a service to the Las Vegas airport, while Tesla, Uber and Waymo received permits last month for commercial services in Clark County. Those permits would allow up to 8,000 robotaxis across the county over the next 12 months. They open the door to competition; they do not by themselves mean all those vehicles will be deployed.