Amazon Robotaxi Service Zoox to Start Charging for Rides in 2026

Amazon’s self-driving robotaxi subsidiary, Zoox, expects to start charging passengers for rides in Las Vegas in early 2026, with paid rides in the San Francisco Bay Area coming later next year, a company executive said, Amanda Gerut reported for Fortune Tech.

The company’s distinct carriage-style vehicles currently provide free rides in parts of Las Vegas, and Zoox is gradually opening a waitlist for users in San Francisco. (Photo: Amazon)

The move — a key milestone for Zoox as it seeks to catch up with Alphabet’s Waymo — depends on obtaining federal and state regulatory approvals, Zoox cofounder and Chief Technology Officer Jesse Levinson told attendees at Fortune’s Brainstorm AI conference in San Francisco.

He said Zoox is “laser-focused” on moving people around cities, an addressable market he described as “just profoundly huge.”

Zoox crossed the 1-million-mile technical threshold for autonomous rides just last week, Levinson added.

The company’s distinct carriage-style vehicles — which have no steering wheels or manual controls — currently provide free rides in parts of Las Vegas, and Zoox is gradually opening a waitlist for users in San Francisco.

Despite the progress, Zoox will not generate revenue meaningful to parent company Amazon for at least several more years, Levinson said. After that point, the business will become more “financially interesting,” he added.