Zoox Opens Robotaxi Factory, Escalating Rivalry with Tesla and Waymo

Amazon-owned Zoox has officially launched its first robotaxi production facility, signaling a major step toward commercializing its autonomous vehicle service and intensifying competition with industry leaders Tesla and Waymo.

Located in Hayward, California, the new 220,000-square-foot factory is capable of assembling over 10,000 robotaxis per year at full capacity. While Zoox has not disclosed its initial production figures, the move reflects its plans to scale significantly as it prepares for public ride launches.

The company is currently testing its fully autonomous, purpose-built robotaxis — uniquely designed vehicles with no steering wheels or pedals — in multiple U.S. cities. It expects to begin commercial operations in Las Vegas later this year, followed by expansion in San Francisco, where it is already operating in the SoMa (South of Market) neighborhood.

“Anticipated public demand and upcoming market entries justify this scale-up in production,” Zoox stated, hinting at more widespread deployments in the coming years.

Zoox’s entry comes at a pivotal moment in the robotaxi race:

• Waymo, owned by Alphabet, already runs a mature driverless taxi service and is expanding across U.S. cities.

• Tesla, led by Elon Musk, plans to launch its paid robotaxi service on June 22, using Model Y SUVs with self-driving software, and later a Cybercab—a futuristic, manual-control-free, two-seater vehicle.

Unlike Waymo’s retrofitted models and Tesla’s modified SUVs, Zoox’s vehicles are custom-built from the ground up, resembling compact “toaster ovens” and designed specifically for autonomous operations.

Still, all major players in the space face substantial hurdles. Regulatory constraints, safety concerns, and cost overruns have hampered progress toward full autonomy. Moreover, companies including Zoox, Tesla, and Waymo have been subject to federal investigations and recalls after incidents involving their autonomous systems.

Nevertheless, Zoox’s new production hub marks a bold bet that it can move from limited testing to mass deployment, turning science fiction into a scalable reality.