Amazon’s Zoox secures US federal approval for steering-wheel-free robotaxis

By Reuters and The Associated PressPublished On 30 Jul 202630 Jul 2026Zoox, Amazon’s brand of autonomous vehicles, has won approval in the United States for limited commercial deployment of its steering-wheel-free robotaxis, a first for the autonomous transportation industry.On Thursday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gave its approval for Zoox to begin charging customers for rides, once it secures state and local approval.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3US opens probe after a Waymo self-driving car hit a child near a schoollist 2 of 3Amazon’s Zoox recalls self-driving vehicles amid emergency response issueslist 3 of 3Waymo runs into safety concerns and competition as it expands in the USend of listAs part of that approval, the company was granted an exemption from federal rules that require human controls on motor vehicles.NHTSA administrator Jonathan Morrison told the Reuters news agency that Zoox had so far met its safety requirements. But he indicated there would be a staggered rollout, and no Zoox vehicles would be immediately available for sale to the public.“We can say pretty clearly that the systems in place on the Zoox exceed the e...