Amazon hopes to deliver 10,000 robotaxis annually with new factory, challenging Waymo
HAYWARD, Calif. (AP) — Amazon is gearing up to make as many as 10,000 robotaxis annually at a sprawling plant near Silicon Valley as it prepares to challenge self-driving cab leader Waymo. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is also vying to join the autonomous race.
The 220,000-square-foot (20,440-square-meter) robotaxi factory announced Wednesday heralds a new phase in Amazon’s push into a technological frontier that began taking shape in 2009, when Waymo was launched as a secret project within Google.
Amazon began eyeing the market five years ago when it shelled out $1.2 billion for self-driving startup Zoox, which will be the brand behind a robotaxi service that plans to begin transporting customers in Las Vegas late this year before expanding into San Francisco next year.
Zoox, conceived in 2014, will be trying to catch up to Waymo, which began operating robotaxis in Phoenix nearly five years ago. It started charging for rides in San Francisco in 2023 and also expanded into Los Angeles and Austin, Texas. Waymo says it has recorded more than 10 million paid rides while other would-be rivals such as Amazon and Tesla are still fine-tuning their self-driving technology and tackling how to ramp up their fleet.
https://apnews.com/article/amazon-zoox-robotaxis-manufacturing-plant-8c34ae849ccb10eaa7e6e5266d6de8e8
= new reply since forum marked as read
in my neighborhood.
