Amazon's Big Bet on Robotaxis: A New Player in the Self-Driving Game

Amazon is making a big move into the world of self-driving cars. It plans to build up to 10, 000 robotaxis each year at a large factory near Silicon Valley. This factory is a significant step in Amazon's journey into the self-driving technology field, which started back in 2009 with Waymo, a project that began secretly within Google. The robotaxis will be made by Zoox, a company Amazon bought for $1. 2 billion five years ago. Zoox has been working on its own self-driving technology since 2014. Amazon's goal is to start using these robotaxis to transport people in Las Vegas later this year and then expand to San Francisco next year. Zoox is playing catch-up with Waymo, which has been operating robotaxis in Phoenix for nearly five years. Waymo has already started charging for rides in several cities and has completed over 10 million paid rides. Meanwhile, Amazon and Tesla are still working on perfecting their self-driving technology and figuring out how to produce more vehicles. The factory in Hayward, California, is massive, covering an area equivalent to three-and-a-half football fields. It's about 17 miles north of a Tesla factory, where electric vehicles are made. Zoox has turned this former bus manufacturing plant into a high-tech facility. Here, their unique, boxy vehicles are assembled and tested on a 21-station assembly line. Right now, Zoox is making one robotaxi per day, but they aim to increase production to three vehicles per hour by next year. Once the factory is running at full speed, Zoox plans to produce 10, 000 robotaxis annually. These vehicles will be used in major cities like Miami, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. Although Zoox will assemble its robotaxis in the U. S. , about half of the parts will come from other countries. Zoox's robotaxis have a distinctive design, looking more like carriages than traditional cars. They can seat up to four passengers and don't even have a steering wheel. This design is different from Waymo's approach, which adds self-driving technology to existing cars made by major automakers. Zoox is currently testing its robotaxis in Las Vegas and San Francisco. They recently partnered with Resorts World to provide rides to guests. However, a minor collision with an electric scooter in San Francisco led to a voluntary recall to update their self-driving technology. No one was hurt in the incident. Tesla is also trying to compete in the robotaxi market. Elon Musk has been talking about building the world's largest robotaxi service, but the timeline for this has changed several times. Tesla plans to start a limited rollout of robotaxis in Austin, but the date might change due to safety concerns. Zoox has a different strategy. They plan to operate a smaller number of robotaxis in various markets, with about 2, 000 in major cities. Each robotaxi produced in Hayward is expected to be on the road for about five years, covering around 500, 000 miles.