Las Vegas, let’s ride
Exciting news: We’ve deployed our purpose-built robotaxi in Las Vegas, marking another big step towards commercial launch.
A first for the Silver State
Since June 16, 2023, our robotaxi has been driving on public roads in Las Vegas. No driver. No steering wheel or pedals. It is the first time a fully driverless purpose-built robotaxi has operated autonomously on public roads in the state of Nevada. This state is the second that our robotaxi is driving autonomously in, following on from the deployment in Foster City, CA, in February.
Our robotaxi had to reach our safety standards as well as those of the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. Thanks to all that work, we’re authorized to drive on public roads within the state—and this is only the beginning.
Robotaxi in Las Vegas on public roads
The Las Vegas route
We’re kicking things off with a one-mile loop around the neighborhood where our Las Vegas HQ is located, and we will expand over the coming months. Our robotaxis can transport four people at a time along this public route, at speeds up to 35 mph. The first riders are Zoox employees, and what we learn from these journeys will help us build our future public service.
We’ve chosen an initial route that will put our vehicle through its paces. It must navigate several unprotected turns and multi-way stops—all on busy public roads with cyclists, pedestrians, and cars.
ShareJesse Levinson, Co-Founder and CTO"Deploying our robotaxi on open public roads in California and now Nevada is a big step for Zoox. Driving autonomously in these two unique but equally challenging locations will provide us with invaluable learnings as we fine-tune our technology in preparation for commercial launch.”
The road here
We first arrived in Las Vegas in 2019 with our test fleet of Toyota Highlanders. Over the last few years, they’ve mapped the area and gathered data on its unique driving conditions. They’ve also been driving autonomously with safety drivers on board in preparation for the arrival of our robotaxis.
In August 2020, we opened a Zoox office and depot in the city to support our testing fleet. Now we’re massively expanding those operations—adding 190,000 square feet of warehouse space for our vehicles as well as extra office space for our growing Zoox team.
These are the foundations for a full service in Las Vegas—covering everything from tech support and rider operations to the maintenance of the vehicles themselves.
What happens in Vegas...
…helps us reinvent transportation. We’ve already learned a lot from our ongoing robotaxi rides on public roads in Foster City, CA, and the data we gather in Las Vegas will be crucial for improving our service even further.
Our short-term aim is to provide the Las Vegas public with driverless rides, but our ultimate goal has always been to make cities safer, cleaner, and more enjoyable for everyone.
What Zoox learns in Vegas, won’t stay in Vegas.