Amazon launches its Waymo rival, Zoox

Robo Taxi Market Entry - Amazon's Zuk's self-driving vehicles are launching in Las Vegas, marking its entry into the robo taxi race [1] - Amazon is now competing with Alphabet's Whimo and Tesla in the US robo taxi market [2] - Whimo has provided over 10 million paid rides since its launch 5 years ago and is expanding across the US [2] Vehicle Design and Technology - Zuk's EV robo taxi is built from scratch around sensors and software, unlike Whimo's retrofitted Jaguars [4] - The Zuk vehicle has no steering wheel or pedals, requiring special regulatory clearance [1][2] - Amazon delayed the launch partly to refine the aesthetics of the autonomous vehicle [4] Potential Synergies - Autonomous cars could benefit Amazon's delivery network and streamline e-commerce fulfillment [5] - The company already utilizes autonomous robots in its warehouses [5] Expansion Plans - Commercial rollout is planned for the Las Vegas strip, followed by San Francisco, Austin, and Miami [6] - The target audience is the same as Whimo's [6] Tesla's Position - Tesla's robo taxi rollout is currently limited to geo-fenced areas in Austin with human oversight [3] - Tesla's high market cap is partly attributed to its baked-in AV strategy [7]