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Zoox Cleared to Demo Custom Robotaxis as Federal Probe Closes
August 6, 2025
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has granted Zoox an exemption to publicly demonstrate its custom-built, steering wheel-free robotaxis — a key milestone for the Amazon-owned autonomous vehicle company. Alongside the exemption, NHTSA has officially closed its investigation into whether Zoox violated federal regulations by self-certifying its vehicles without traditional controls.
The decision puts to rest a long-standing debate over compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), which traditionally require steering wheels, pedals, and mirrors. Zoox had previously asserted that its vehicles met these standards when it self-certified them in 2022. NHTSA, however, launched an investigation in March 2023 to scrutinize the company’s self-certification process and supporting data.
Despite regulatory scrutiny, Zoox continued advancing its AV program. In early 2023, the company began testing its fully autonomous vehicles — built from the ground up without manual driving interfaces — on public roads in Foster City, California. Since then, testing has expanded to San Francisco and Las Vegas.
While Zoox has not yet launched a commercial service, it has begun offering rides to employees, family, and friends in San Francisco. The company also recently introduced the Zoox Explorer Program in Las Vegas to allow early members of the public to experience the service.
The exemption granted by NHTSA is specifically for demonstrations and does not yet permit commercial operation. However, it marks a pivotal step forward for Zoox and other companies designing autonomous vehicles that don’t resemble conventional cars.
This regulatory shift is part of a broader strategy from NHTSA under a new national framework called AV STEP (ADS-Equipped Vehicle Safety, Transparency and Evaluation Program). The framework is designed to accelerate the deployment of autonomous vehicles by allowing exemptions from certain safety standards — particularly those requiring manual driving controls — for testing, demonstrations, and ultimately commercial use.
According to Zoox spokesperson Whitney Jencks, the company is working closely with NHTSA to progress from the current demonstration exemption toward a future commercial exemption.
As a condition of the agreement, Zoox has agreed to remove any claims that its purpose-built robotaxis comply with FMVSS. With the federal investigation now closed and a regulatory path cleared, Zoox appears one step closer to launching its commercial robotaxi service.
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