Exclusive-Amazon's Zoox wins first US approval for paid robotaxis with no human controls

SAN DIEGO, July 30 : Amazon's Zoox won U.S. approval on Wednesday for limited commercial deployment of its novel steering-wheel-free robotaxis, a first for the autonomous ride industry, the head of the U.S. auto safety agency said.The exemption from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) rules requiring human controls marks a milestone for companies developing robotaxis from the ground up rather than modifying conventional cars under safety regulations written long before self-driving technology emerged.Along with Zoox, whose electric carriage-style vehicle has two rows of inward-facing seats, others such as Tesla and Alphabet's Waymo are racing to expand autonomous ride-hailing services in the United States.NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison told Reuters exclusively tha