NHTSA granted Amazon-owned Zoox a temporary exemption, announced Thursday, to commercially deploy its purpose-built robotaxis — the first time the agency has approved a vehicle without traditional human controls to charge passengers for rides.
The exemption covers up to 2,500 vehicles annually over two years and is subject to what NHTSA calls an "enhanced, adaptable oversight structure that can evolve as Zoox's technology advances."
The ruling is part of a broader set of NHTSA actions to accelerate autonomous vehicle development in the US and removes what the agency describes as the last major federal regulatory barrier to commercial driverless robotaxi service.