Zoox Robotaxi: Free Rides Underway, Paid Service Hits Las Vegas and SF in 2026

Amazon’s Zoox robotaxi service offers free rides right now in parts of Las Vegas and select San Francisco neighborhoods. Paid fares come next year, starting in Las Vegas early 2026 and expanding to the Bay Area later that year. Those details come straight from Zoox cofounder Jesse Levinson during a talk at Fortune’s Brainstorm AI event, as reported in Fortune.

Where You Can Ride Today

Las Vegas: Free rides started on the Strip in September, now available in portions of the city to waitlisted users. Zoox hit 1 million autonomous miles there last week, per Levinson.
San Francisco: Beta testing kicked off in three districts—SoMa, Mission, and Design District—with free rides for invited waitlist members, according to Global Fleet. The company has tested on public roads here since 2017.

These rides use Zoox’s custom bidirectional EVs—no steering wheel, pedals, or mirrors. They seat four with carriage-style seating, personal screens, individual climate controls, and 360-degree sensors.

Paid Rides and Bigger Rollout

Everything for paid service hinges on federal and state approvals. Once cleared:

Early 2026: Charging fares in Las Vegas.
Later 2026: Paid rides in San Francisco Bay Area; Zoox aims to drop the waitlist there entirely by then.
Beyond: Launches planned for Austin and Miami, with more cities to follow. A former bus factory in Hayward now builds up to 10,000 vehicles a year with Panasonic batteries.

Levinson stressed Zoox’s focus on passengers over deliveries, despite Amazon’s package interests. Moving people is tougher on vehicles but taps a massive market, he said. Revenues won’t matter much to Amazon anytime soon—it’s expensive now, but fares should outpace costs in a few years.

Zoox trails Waymo, which charges fares in San Francisco since 2023 and expands to freeways and new cities. But Zoox vehicles were purpose-built driverless from day one, unlike retrofits.