Screenshot from
(Photo : Zoox YouTube Channel)
Screenshot from "Zoox: ~1-Hour Fully Autonomous Drive in San Francisco with Commentary"

Tech start-up Zoox announced that it is ready to reveal its own electric robotaxi and updated plan.

According to Forbes, Zoox has gone through a big management shakeup and surprise sale to Amazon in the past two years.

News of the company revealing its electric robotaxi follows the complete acquisition of the company.

TechCrunch reported on the sale back in June, saying Zoox will still be a stand-alone business, as per Amazon's announcement.

Some of Zoox's plans this year include pivoting its automated deliveries despite its link to the trillion-dollar worth retail giant.

"Our mission-a ground-up robotaxi, moving people, ride-hailing-is absolutely intact," said CEO Aicha Evans to Forbes.

She added that the real vehicle will likely be seen by next month, promising that the car will be "driving in autonomy, performing maneuvers." She did not give a specific date of release.

This ground-up approach to their robotaxi is probably the most expensive possible path there is in the autonomous driving industry, said TechCrunch.

Evans said the company might want to move to "other things" but right now, Amazon sees the autonomous vehicles s a "growth opportunity.

Evans came to the company in 2019 from Intel, alongside Zoox's notable cost-cutting.

The Amazon sale reportedly came with an estimated $1.3 billion price tag, and it took place shortly after the start of the coronavirus pandemic this year. The transaction was closed by August.

What is Zoox's Robotaxi Going to be Like?

Zoox's vehicle is a "bi-directional" build and has four-wheel capability. It has not accelerator and brake pedals or steering wheel.

Passengers can then travel around cities, starting with San Francisco and Las Vegas.

The design of the car remains a mystery but past images of the Foster City revealed more than a skeletal metal frame, wheels and seats. It appeared to be a compact and van-like vehicle.

The car is can carry up to four passengers but is only intended to haul around up to two people.

It can be considered as a smaller version of General Motors-backed Cruise's electric self-driving van called Origin which was shown in January.

Zoox seeks to produce their robotaxis in-house, unlike competitors like Waymo that is buying from automotive partners and Cruise that relies on GM to provide its fleet of vehicles.

Zoox is looking forward to producing from Fremont, California, which is also home to the Tesla EV assembly plant.

Co-founder Jesse Levinson believes the facility can assemble "tens of thousands" of vehicles each year, made possible by their simple-to-assemble design.

"We have a vast, global tier-one supply chain that's building parts of the vehicles," said Evans, comparing the process to a "multiton Lego."

The start-up appeared to have chosen a suitable home in California, which has long been the ground zero for autonomous cars in the U.S., said The Verge.

While the state had not allowed companies to use these kinds of vehicles for commercial ride-hailing before, that changed last week when the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved programs to allow this.

According to Geospatial World, CPUC has approved two new apps which allow some robotaxi providers to charge for ride sharing in autonomous vehicles.

Ride providers were happy with the approvals as they will now be allowed to commercialize their autonomous vehicles to the said services.