Your Amazon Prime Membership May Soon Offer Robotaxi Rides

Zoox, the autonomous mobility company acquired by Amazon four years ago, is gearing up to get its robotaxis on the road and into service. The best way to do that may be through Amazon Prime memberships. The company has been searching for the best ways to get its vehicles to market. Bundling it as an included service or for an extra fee as part of a Prime membership could be a way to get its robotaxis in front of more than 160 million customers.

Plans haven’t been finalized as to possible Amazon Prime with the company still testing its vehicles to be sure they’re ready. Right now, the focus is on NHTSA approval and expansion into its first city outside of California – Las Vegas.

The Road To Robotaxis

Zoox took a different approach to the robotaxi question, creating a vehicle that is more akin to a bus or a train rather than a conventional car. It has a compact shape meant for tight city driving along with four-wheel steering. It also doesn’t have a steering wheel, as the company believes this makes the experience more comfortable for apprehensive passengers who don’t love the idea of a phantom spinning steering wheel.

This made public road testing more challenging compared to how companies like Cruise or Motional tested. If a Zook vehicle gets stuck or makes a wrong move, there’s no steering wheel for a tester to grab to correct the problem, like there is in a Chevy Bolt or Ioniq 5.

“Sooner or later, all the players have to solve these problems,” said Marc Wimmershoff, vice president of autonomy software at Zoox. “But depending on the path you take, you have to solve them at a different point in time.”

Becoming Profitable

Last year, the company embarked on its first taxi service as a shuttle for company employees. Now, testing has expanded in Las Vegas and Foster City with an increase in speed up to 45 mph. They’re also testing in the rain and at night when travel to and from the Strip is vital for the thousands of hotel, restaurant, and casino workers who need transportation 24-hour a day.

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The futuristic pods can seat four passengers and will be used to ferry Zoox employees between offices.

The hope is that once NHTSA approval is achieved, the vehicle will quickly find an avenue toward profitability. Not getting that apporval would be a massive blow to the company’s efforts and would force Zoox to explore alternative avenues that could take years. Amazon’s CEO has been pushing for spending cuts and revenue increases wherever possible, which could be problematic if Zoox doesn’t quickly find a path to profitability.

Hailing a robotaxi using your Amazon account could offer convenience and affordability for millions of commuters, but there are still quite a few roadblocks that need to be overcome. It’s a process that takes time, but Zoox isn’t willing to risk the potential for safety issues in the name of quick approval.