Hyperdrive

Amazon’s Zoox Gets Green Light for Robotaxi Tests in California

  • Autonomous-car company is one of four with driverless permits
  • California allows 60 firms to conduct limited self-drive tests
A Zoox self-driving car is operated outside the company's headquarters in Foster City, California.Photographer: Michael Short/Bloomberg
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Amazon.com Inc.’s self-driving-car unit, Zoox Inc., is getting a green light from California to test autonomous vehicles on public roads without a safety driver, becoming the fourth company to receive the state’s blessing for truly driverless testing.

The permit allows Zoox to operate two vehicles without a driver behind the wheel, a step up from approval it received four years ago that required the presence of a person to take control if needed, the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles said in a statement.