{"id":"5f68f190-8d07-469e-ba6c-15cda702e063","modelId":"e94a4a69-6197-45c9-bf9a-1cb637f307bd","versionId":null,"locationId":"4f55820e-45f3-469f-b019-18f14696a4fb","operatorId":"6ab92a95-6f4e-4493-a771-ae645c7969c6","ownerId":null,"slug":"zoox-robotaxi-los-angeles","status":"research","firstSeen":"2025-04-08T00:00:00.000Z","manufacturerSerial":null,"reviewStatus":"reviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/","label":"TechCrunch — Zoox begins LA testing (April 8, 2025)"},{"url":"https://labusinessjournal.com/","label":"LA Business Journal — Zoox LA testing coverage"},{"url":"https://www.westsidecurrent.com/","label":"Westside Current — Zoox LA testing"},{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/","label":"TechCrunch — Zoox + Uber LA commercial launch announcement (March 2026)"},{"url":"https://www.electrive.com/","label":"Electrive — Zoox + Uber mid-2027 LA commercial plan (March 2026)"}],"notes":"Amazon-owned Zoox began mapping and data-collection operations in Los Angeles on April 8, 2025, deploying retrofitted Toyota Highlander test vehicles with Zoox's self-driving sensor stack. LA is Zoox's sixth city for this kind of testing. This is a pre-commercial mapping and testing deployment, not commercial service. Commercial LA service via the Uber app is planned for mid-2027. As of May 2026, Zoox runs commercial service only in Las Vegas (since September 2025) and San Francisco (since November 2025). Waymo already runs paid commercial service in LA. This record exists at the research/testing maturity stage; the deployment will be re-graded to commercial when paid service actually launches.","keyFacts":[{"label":"Editorial framing","value":"Pre-commercial mapping and data collection; explicitly NOT commercial robotaxi service"},{"label":"Ownership","value":"Zoox is an Amazon subsidiary (acquired 2020)"},{"label":"LA vehicles","value":"Manually-driven retrofitted Toyota Highlanders with Zoox's sensor stack"},{"label":"LA mapping start","value":"April 8, 2025 (Zoox's sixth city)"},{"label":"Planned LA commercial launch","value":"Mid-2027 via the Uber app"},{"label":"Purpose-built robotaxi","value":"No steering wheel, no pedals, 4 passengers (not the vehicle currently in LA)"},{"label":"Zoox commercial markets (May 2026)","value":"Las Vegas (September 2025), San Francisco (November 2025)"},{"label":"Competitive context","value":"Waymo already runs paid commercial service in Los Angeles"},{"label":"Autonomous miles","value":"Surpassed 1M+ autonomous miles in late 2025"},{"label":"2025 recall","value":"Voluntary recall of 258 vehicles (hard-braking issue) early 2025"}],"reviewNote":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-28T12:02:28.238Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-28T12:02:28.316Z","model":{"id":"e94a4a69-6197-45c9-bf9a-1cb637f307bd","companyId":"6ab92a95-6f4e-4493-a771-ae645c7969c6","modelName":"Zoox Robotaxi","slug":"zoox-robotaxi","description":"Zoox's purpose-built, bidirectional autonomous robotaxi, built from the ground up with no steering wheel or pedals, designed for carriage-style seating. Operates Zoox's free public demonstration rides in San Francisco (SoMa) and Las Vegas (the Strip). Zoox separately runs a fleet of retrofitted Toyota Highlanders (with human safety operators) for testing in additional cities. Maturity: pilot, running free public demo rides, not yet approved/launched as paid commercial service.","formFactor":"av","maturityStage":"pilot","specs":{"test_fleet":"retrofitted Toyota Highlander (with safety operators)","configuration":"purpose-built, bidirectional, no steering wheel or pedals"},"manufacturerSerial":null,"reviewStatus":"reviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/06/amazon-owned-zoox-issues-recall-following-robotaxi-crash/","label":"Purpose-built robotaxi (no wheel/pedals) + Highlander test fleet","title":"Purpose-built robotaxi (no wheel/pedals) + Highlander test fleet","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"TechCrunch","publishedAt":"2025-05-06"}],"aliases":["Zoox purpose-built robotaxi"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-26T18:25:09.786Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-28T13:05:08.275Z","company":{"id":"6ab92a95-6f4e-4493-a771-ae645c7969c6","name":"Zoox","slug":"zoox","description":"Autonomous-vehicle company founded ~2014 by Jesse Levinson and Tim Kentley-Klay, acquired by Amazon in 2020 for over $1 billion. Zoox develops a purpose-built, bidirectional robotaxi with no steering wheel or pedals, plus a retrofitted Toyota Highlander test fleet. As of late 2025/early 2026, Zoox operates FREE public demonstration robotaxi rides (not yet paid commercial service) in parts of San Francisco (SoMa) and Las Vegas (the Strip), having opened to early riders/public after starting with employees and vetted guests in 2024. Zoox requires further federal approval before charging for rides and has stated it plans to begin paid commercial service in 2026. It also tests (with human safety operators) in Austin, Miami, Seattle, and Los Angeles using retrofitted Highlanders. Zoox has faced significant regulatory scrutiny: three software recalls in 2025 (258 vehicles in March for unexpected hard braking, ~270 in May after an April Las Vegas collision, and 332 in December for unnecessary lane-crossings near intersections), plus NHTSA probes. Amazon has positioned Zoox as its entry into autonomous ride-hailing, though it trails Waymo in commercial deployment.","status":"Amazon subsidiary","founded":2014,"hq":"Foster City, California, USA","fundingTotal":"1200000000","type":"both","reviewStatus":"reviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/06/amazon-owned-zoox-issues-recall-following-robotaxi-crash/","label":"Zoox — Amazon-owned, purpose-built robotaxi + Highlander test fleet, SF/Vegas/Austin/Miami/Seattle, recalls","title":"Zoox — Amazon-owned, purpose-built robotaxi + Highlander test fleet, SF/Vegas/Austin/Miami/Seattle, recalls","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"TechCrunch","publishedAt":"2025-05-06"},{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/30/zoox-custom-robotaxis-are-finally-coming-to-san-francisco-and-las-vegas","label":"Zoox custom robotaxis to SF (SoMa) and Las Vegas (Strip); founded ~2014; Amazon 2020","title":"Zoox custom robotaxis to SF (SoMa) and Las Vegas (Strip); founded ~2014; Amazon 2020","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"TechCrunch","publishedAt":"2024-10-30"},{"url":"https://interestingengineering.com/transportation/amazon-robotaxis-software-recall","label":"Zoox runs free public robotaxi rides in SF + Las Vegas; needs federal approval for paid; plans to charge 2026","title":"Zoox runs free public robotaxi rides in SF + Las Vegas; needs federal approval for paid; plans to charge 2026","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"Interesting Engineering","publishedAt":"2025-12-23"},{"url":"https://patentpc.com/blog/av-investment-trends-whos-pouring-the-most-money-into-self-driving-technology-funding-stats","label":"Amazon acquired Zoox in 2020 for $1.2 billion","title":"Amazon acquired Zoox in 2020 for $1.2 billion","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"PatentPC","publishedAt":"2026-04-01"}],"keyFacts":[{"label":"Owner","value":"Amazon (acquired 2020 for ~$1.2B)"},{"label":"Capital","value":"~$1.2B Amazon acquisition (2020); Amazon-funded since"},{"label":"Service","value":"FREE public demo rides (SF SoMa + Las Vegas Strip), not yet paid commercial"},{"label":"Vehicle","value":"Purpose-built robotaxi (no steering wheel/pedals) + Highlander test fleet"},{"label":"Paid commercial","value":"Planned 2026 (pending federal approval)"},{"label":"Safety record","value":"Three 2025 recalls (258 braking / 270 Vegas / 332 lane-crossing)"}],"aliases":["Zoox Inc"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-26T18:25:08.712Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-28T13:23:48.535Z"}},"version":null,"location":{"id":"4f55820e-45f3-469f-b019-18f14696a4fb","name":"Los Angeles","slug":"los-angeles","kind":"city","parentLocationId":"fdf937a9-5eeb-4e8d-a514-ef860b351b30","lat":null,"lng":null,"reviewStatus":"reviewed","aliases":[],"collisionRisk":"high","reviewNote":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-23T22:08:25.675Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-24T05:09:13.812Z"},"operator":{"id":"6ab92a95-6f4e-4493-a771-ae645c7969c6","name":"Zoox","slug":"zoox","description":"Autonomous-vehicle company founded ~2014 by Jesse Levinson and Tim Kentley-Klay, acquired by Amazon in 2020 for over $1 billion. Zoox develops a purpose-built, bidirectional robotaxi with no steering wheel or pedals, plus a retrofitted Toyota Highlander test fleet. As of late 2025/early 2026, Zoox operates FREE public demonstration robotaxi rides (not yet paid commercial service) in parts of San Francisco (SoMa) and Las Vegas (the Strip), having opened to early riders/public after starting with employees and vetted guests in 2024. Zoox requires further federal approval before charging for rides and has stated it plans to begin paid commercial service in 2026. It also tests (with human safety operators) in Austin, Miami, Seattle, and Los Angeles using retrofitted Highlanders. Zoox has faced significant regulatory scrutiny: three software recalls in 2025 (258 vehicles in March for unexpected hard braking, ~270 in May after an April Las Vegas collision, and 332 in December for unnecessary lane-crossings near intersections), plus NHTSA probes. Amazon has positioned Zoox as its entry into autonomous ride-hailing, though it trails Waymo in commercial deployment.","status":"Amazon subsidiary","founded":2014,"hq":"Foster City, California, USA","fundingTotal":"1200000000","type":"both","reviewStatus":"reviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/06/amazon-owned-zoox-issues-recall-following-robotaxi-crash/","label":"Zoox — Amazon-owned, purpose-built robotaxi + Highlander test fleet, SF/Vegas/Austin/Miami/Seattle, recalls","title":"Zoox — Amazon-owned, purpose-built robotaxi + Highlander test fleet, SF/Vegas/Austin/Miami/Seattle, recalls","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"TechCrunch","publishedAt":"2025-05-06"},{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/30/zoox-custom-robotaxis-are-finally-coming-to-san-francisco-and-las-vegas","label":"Zoox custom robotaxis to SF (SoMa) and Las Vegas (Strip); founded ~2014; Amazon 2020","title":"Zoox custom robotaxis to SF (SoMa) and Las Vegas (Strip); founded ~2014; Amazon 2020","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"TechCrunch","publishedAt":"2024-10-30"},{"url":"https://interestingengineering.com/transportation/amazon-robotaxis-software-recall","label":"Zoox runs free public robotaxi rides in SF + Las Vegas; needs federal approval for paid; plans to charge 2026","title":"Zoox runs free public robotaxi rides in SF + Las Vegas; needs federal approval for paid; plans to charge 2026","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"Interesting Engineering","publishedAt":"2025-12-23"},{"url":"https://patentpc.com/blog/av-investment-trends-whos-pouring-the-most-money-into-self-driving-technology-funding-stats","label":"Amazon acquired Zoox in 2020 for $1.2 billion","title":"Amazon acquired Zoox in 2020 for $1.2 billion","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"PatentPC","publishedAt":"2026-04-01"}],"keyFacts":[{"label":"Owner","value":"Amazon (acquired 2020 for ~$1.2B)"},{"label":"Capital","value":"~$1.2B Amazon acquisition (2020); Amazon-funded since"},{"label":"Service","value":"FREE public demo rides (SF SoMa + Las Vegas Strip), not yet paid commercial"},{"label":"Vehicle","value":"Purpose-built robotaxi (no steering wheel/pedals) + Highlander test fleet"},{"label":"Paid commercial","value":"Planned 2026 (pending federal approval)"},{"label":"Safety record","value":"Three 2025 recalls (258 braking / 270 Vegas / 332 lane-crossing)"}],"aliases":["Zoox Inc"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-26T18:25:08.712Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-28T13:23:48.535Z"},"owner":null,"derived":{"trustTier":"unverified","currentPosture":null}}