Could Amazon’s Zoox Beat Tesla and Waymo in the Robotaxi Race?

Bold Names

The Wall Street Journal

Technology

4.4 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 14 March 2025

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When Aicha Evans took over robotaxi startup Zoox from its founders in 2019, she made two big moves: selling the company to Amazon for over $1.2 billion, and keeping Zoox’s radical design for a driverless car that looks like a lounge on wheels, with no steering wheel or brake pedal. Now, as the robotaxi industry drives toward a pivotal moment in public acceptance, Zoox is preparing to launch its commercial service later this year. How does the company fit in alongside rivals like Google’s Waymo and Elon Musk ’s Tesla? And why does Evans take inspiration from the early days of aviation? She speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins in the latest episode of our interview series Bold Names. Check Out Past Episodes: Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication Humanoid Robot Startups Are Hot. This AI Expert Cuts Through the Hype. Reid Hoffman Says AI Isn’t an ‘Arms Race,’ but America Needs to Win Why Bilt’s CEO Wants You To Pay Your Mortgage With a Credit Card Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at [email protected] Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:30.2	Hey, Mims, would you ever get into a car without a steering wheel or brick pedals? What is this? Some kind of
0:35.3	crazy YouTube stunt?
0:39.1	That's life in San Francisco.
0:44.4	It's actually what Amazon's Robotaxi company, Zooks, is doing, building a bunch of vehicles that look more like living rooms on wheels.
0:47.5	Well, I can't wait to try out the couch, put my feet up, and we're going to hear more
0:52.0	about Zooks' plans from its CEO and why she didn't act this radical car design when she took charge of the company.
0:58.9	That's next.
1:05.0	Recently, my co-host Tim Higgins took a ride around San Francisco and a vehicle made by Zook's
1:11.1	Robotaxi startup.
1:12.6	Yeah, we're right forward. Why not?
1:16.6	Okay.
1:17.6	It's your first time.
1:18.6	Yeah.
1:19.6	Oh, should I sit over there?
1:20.6	No.
1:21.6	All right.
1:23.6	Unlike some of its rivals, Zooks' vehicles don't look like traditional cars.
1:28.4	They're sort of like toasters on wheels, or maybe a theme park ride that hopped off the rails.
1:33.8	They don't have brake pedals or a steering wheel, just two rows of seats facing each other.
1:38.5	It's almost like a lounge.
	...

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