Zoox CEO Aicha Evans on the robotaxi race: ‘We’re at the proof-point stage’

Robotaxis are multiplying across American cities. But are consumers actually ready to trust them? Zoox CEO Aicha Evans discusses the company’s strategy as an Amazon subsidiary, its intensifying rivalry with Waymo, and why a new partnership with Uber could be the key to getting autonomous rides from novelty to scale. Evans also reveals why she recruits what she calls an “invisible army of rebels” inside Zoox. This is an abridged transcript of an interview from Rapid Response, hosted by the former editor-in-chief of Fast Company, Bob Safian. From the team behind the Masters of Scale podcast, Rapid Response features candid conversations with today’s top business leaders navigating real-time challenges. Subscribe to Rapid Response wherever you get your podcasts to ensure you never miss an episode. Zoox is in the red-hot center of building a new mobility future: electric autonomous vehicles. You have a new partnership with Uber. Your robotaxis are operational in Las Vegas and San Francisco. How close are we, really, to a dramatically different mobility paradigm? I think, as an industry, there’s been a lot of progress. We’re at the proof-point stage. Over the last 20 years, we’ve had a lot of “Oh, it’s happening tomorrow morning” and “Oh, it’s never going to happen.” We’re past that stage now. The proof points are there, for us and for fellow travelers. Now it’s a matter of starting to prepare for scale. But I’ve always been very consistent that this is not going to be like a consumer product where, all of a sudden, boom, 100 million people experience it. It’s going to be step by step, but we’re well on our way, which is really exciting. Your most well-known fellow traveler, Waymo, has chosen to retrofit existing cars. You guys have opted for purpose-built vehicles with a striking design. It’s got two benches facing each other. There are no driver controls, no steering wheel. It does