Zoox's 100-robotaxi cap in Nevada set to expire Sept. 25

A Nevada Transportation Authority permit that caps Zoox at 100 robotaxis is set to expire September 25, TechCrunch has learned, clearing the way for the Amazon-owned company to expand its commercial fleet of custom-built robotaxis in Las Vegas just as competition heats up. An NTA official and a Zoox spokesperson confirmed the change, which is also outlined in an updated permit. The expiration doesn’t mean Las Vegas is about to be flooded with hundreds of Zoox vehicles, but it does give the company more room to grow at a critical moment: Waymo recently launched a commercial service in Las Vegas, while Tesla and Uber have secured their own driverless ride-hailing permits.

Zoox currently operates about 100 custom-built robotaxis — cube-shaped vehicles without steering wheels or pedals — spread across four U.S. cities, including Austin and Miami, with the bulk of the fleet in Las Vegas and San Francisco. Las Vegas remains the only city where Zoox charges for rides; the company still needs a separate permit from California regulators before it can charge passengers there. Zoox began charging for rides in Las Vegas last month after receiving a temporary exemption from certain federal motor vehicle safety standards from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — an exemption that matters because, unlike Waymo, Zoox’s vehicles were built without the steering wheel, pedals, and other federally mandated controls. That commercial exemption allows Zoox to deploy up to 2,500 vehicles per year for the next two years.

It’s unclear how quickly Zoox will use its new freedom in Nevada. A company spokesperson declined to say how many robotaxis Zoox plans to add to its Las Vegas fleet or how many are operating there today; Robotaxi Tracker, which collects data on autonomous vehicles, estimates Zoox has more than 30 vehicles running in the city. The spokesperson told TechCrunch that Zoox plans to steadily increase its fleet size over the next several months “to meet the high demand in Las Vegas and other markets.”

Zoox will have plenty of company regardless of how fast it expands. In August, the NTA approved three permits allowing Tesla, Uber, and Waymo to run commercial robotaxi services in Clark County, home to Las Vegas — permits that together could bring up to 7,000 robotaxis to the area over the next 12 months. Waymo has moved quickly: it opened its robotaxi service to customers in Las Vegas earlier this month, saying it would start with “dozens” of its new Ojai minivan robotaxis in a 23-square-mile area that includes the Strip south of Highway 589 and into Boulder Junction.

Why it matters

The cap’s expiration lets Zoox scale up in Las Vegas at the same time Tesla, Uber, and Waymo are all moving to compete for driverless rides there.