TechCrunch Mobility: Zoox prepares for launch and Uber’s AV empire | TechCrunch

Last day to exhibit your breakthrough to 10,000+ tech leaders at Disrupt is on Oct 2. Book Exhibit Table Now. Disrupt doors open Oct. 13. Get your pass and bring someone with you at 50% off. REGISTER NOW. Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for the future of transportation and now, more than ever, the role AI is playing in it. To get this in your inbox, sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! In just a few days, Amazon-owned Zoox will start charging for robotaxi rides. This might not seem like a big deal; the company’s custom-built robotaxis are already giving rides to passengers in Las Vegas and San Francisco, after all. And it’s opening up an early rider program in Miami and Austin too. None of this matters — in a business sense — until the company can operate commercially. And now it can, starting August 10, thanks to an exemption issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Because Zoox vehicles lack many of the traditional controls required under federal law, such as a steering wheel and pedals, it needed an exemption from federal motor vehicle standards in order to operate. It had an exemption that allowed it to demonstrate t