The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has given Zoox an exemption to demonstrate its custom-built robotaxis on public roads and closed a related investigation into whether the Amazon-owned company had sidestepped federal regulations.

The decision, which was announced Wednesday, clears up a long-standing debate over whether Zoox’s custom-built autonomous vehicles complied with federal motor vehicle safety standards, which place requirements on vehicles such as having a steering wheel and pedals. Zoox had argued that it did and announced in July 2022 that it had self-certified; NHTSA balked. The agency opened an investigation in March 2023 to look into the matter, and specifically the process and data that Zoox had used to self-certify.

The investigation didn’t slow Zoox’s dev

See Full Page