Amazon’s Zoox wants to put 2,500 driverless robotaxis on US roads every year

Amazon’s autonomous vehicle subsidiary Zoox is pushing to deploy up to 2,500 driverless vehicles annually on US roads over the next two years. The company has petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for exemptions that would let it operate robotaxis without steering wheels, brake pedals, or even windshields. What Zoox is actually asking for The petition, filed in August 2025, requests exemptions from eight federal vehicle safety standards. These are the rules that currently require things like steering columns and rearview mirrors, features that make zero sense when there’s no human behind the wheel. The robotaxis themselves are fully electric, designed to travel bidirectionally at speeds up to 75 mph. Public comment on the petition opened on March 10, 2026. The target cities for deployment include Las Vegas, San Francisco, Austin, and Miami. Currently, Zoox operates under approvals limited to research and demonstration purposes only. This petition represents a clear pivot toward commercial operations, meaning actual paying customers climbing into robotaxis without a safety driver present. The bigger picture for autonomous vehicles Amazon acquired Zoox back in...