The Autonomous Car Company I Called ‘Vaporware Horseshit’ Is Finally Deploying Robotaxis In Vegas

I’m not sure how much you remember from the heady days of 2013, when we were all wondering what foxes said and watching compelling seconds upon seconds of video on Vine, but one thing I remember was that there was a mysterious company showing a Level 4 automated vehicle at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The company was called Zoox, and I remember them because of their oddly mysterious and cryptic web presence, which gave absolutely no information about the company or product, leading me to suggest that perhaps this Zoox company (which enjoys a lot of investment from internet book-and-everything-seller Amazon) was “vaporware horseshit,” like so many other tech startups. Well now, 11 years after I so callously applied those words to this company, they’re starting actual robotaxi service in Las Vegas!

Is this one of those situations where I need to eat my words, or issue a formal apology? Maybe? I don’t know. It’s been over a decade, and, besides, the Zoox people have seemed to embrace the “vaporware horseshit” moniker because they good-naturedly have named all of their vehicles VH-(number), after the initials of my unflattering speculative term. [Ed Note: Yes, you read that right. They are naming their models after the term Jason used in his blog. Incredible! -DT]. 

The basic design of Zoox’s robotaxi – which they claim to be the “first” robotaxi because it may be the first purpose-built one and not an adaptation of an existing automobile (like the robotaxis from Waymo or Cruise have been) – is interesting, in that it is a bi-directional design with no provision for human driving whatsoever.

Zoox claims the design was inspired by old horse carriages, and the seating position, two rows of two passengers each, facing one another, certainly fits that old stagecoach-like model. Last year, the company ran into some hiccups with federal certification of their AVs because they seem to have just come up with their own test procedures, but it appears they’ve managed to get certification now.

They do seem to have done some crash testing, even:

Zoox has been testing their robotaxi around Las Vegas for the past year, saying this about their plans:

We’re kicking things off with a one-mile loop around the neighborhood where our Las Vegas HQ is located, and we will expand over the coming months. Our robotaxis can transport four people at a time along this public route, at speeds up to 35 mph. The first riders are Zoox employees, and what we learn from these journeys will help us build our future public service.

We’ve chosen an initial route that will put our vehicle through its paces. It must navigate several unprotected turns and multi-way stops—all on busy public roads with cyclists, pedestrians, and cars.

It now seems they’re about ready to start commercial service, and they appear to have arranged for YouTube personality Supercar Blondie (who actually appears to have pinkish hair) to ride around in one and gush about it:

The video also does note how the dream of automated vehicles is nearing 100 years old, as it was 1925 when the experimental Houdina radio-controlled vehicle was tested, leading to escape artist Harry Houdini trashing the company’s office.

The Zoox interior looks fairly comfortable and hard-wearing, with every passenger getting a cupholder and inductive phone charger, and bench seats that seem to be designed to impede laying down and sleeping on. The glass doors also limit the amount of privacy inside the vehicle, which I suspect was done to keep people from using these as a convenient place to bone.

Zoox seems to be planning on expanding their Vegas service area from one mile trips to five-mile ones, and the speed of their cars from 35 mph to 45 mph. Once this officially starts operation, I suppose it will be significant because of the purpose-built nature of the vehicle, though overall I’m not really sure how important that is.

Still, it’s interesting. I think Level 4 – that is, AVs that operate in specific, mapped-out areas – are the best bet for achieving the sorts of things we seem to want from automated vehicles, and feel like a better use of development and resources at this moment than the vastly more difficult full Level 5 (no restrictions, just self-driving anywhere and everywhere).

So, is this company, which has funding and plans and several generations of actual hardware no longer Vaporware Horseshit?

Maybe. I think I need to ride in one first and see. Because I take my Vaporware Horseshit de-classifications seriously.

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