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Amazon’s Toaster-Shaped Robotaxis Are Hitting the Road by Ellie Davis

William Attardi on August 24, 2026

The company is the first to charge for rides in its autonomous vehicle without a steering wheel, dashboard or pedals charging for rides across San Francisco and in Las Vegas. They can drive in either direction and hold up to four passengers who sit facing each other. Windows stretch across much of the sides. The vehicles are called Zoox and they come from a new entrant in robotaxis: Amazon.com AMZN. Amazon is betting it can become a major player in the growing robotaxi market, which Goldman Sachs expects to grow to nearly $19 billion in sales by 2030, from $376 million last year. It is a risky move. Alphabet’s Waymo, the early leader with roughly 4,000 vehicles operating in various cities, and Tesla provide stiff competition. Amazon bought Zoox in 2020 for $1.2 billion.  Amazon’s Toaster-Shaped Zoox Robotaxis Hitting the Road in San Francisco and Las Vegas – WSJ

Is Waymo Ahead of the Curve? by Sam Klebanov

William Attardi on July 27, 2025

The Alphabet-owned company (Goggle) has 1,500 robotaxis ferrying passengers around Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, and Atlanta, with plans to roll into new locales. It quietly ramped up to provide over 250,000 weekly paid trips in the US, and beat Lyft’s market share in San Francisco, making it the clear front-runner in the quest to scale rides without a driver. Several companies have hit potholes while chasing the driverless taxi prize. Uber abandoned its internal efforts to develop an autonomous vehicle in 2020 and partnered with Waymo in 2024.  Amazon has yet to launch a paid service, but it is testing a couple dozen of its Zoox futuristic driverless cabs—described by some riders as a “toaster on wheels.” It plans to start giving rides to the public in Las Vegas later this year.  Tesla launched a robotaxi pilot service in Austin last month and one in San Francisco this weekend. Meanwhile, abroad…the roads are getting dominated by Chinese startups like Pony.ai and tech behemoth Baidu, which are operating or testing driverless taxis in China, the Middle East, and Europe.  The stakes are high: The global rideshare market will nearly quadruple from $123 billion in 2024 to $480 billion in 2032, Fortune Business Insights projects.  Is Waymo ahead of the curve?

Tesla Launches Robotaxi Program in Austin, Texas

William Attardi on June 23, 2025

Musk appears to be on the verge of making his robotaxi vision a reality with a test run of a small squad of self-driving cabs in Austin, Texas, that began Sunday with customers paying a $4.20 flat fee! Reaching a million may take a year or more, however, although the billionaire should be able to expand the service this year if the Austin demo is a success. The stakes couldn’t be higher, nor the challenges. Rival Waymo was busy deploying driverless taxis in Los Angeles, San Diego, Austin and other cities by using a different technology that allowed it to get to market faster. It just completed its 10 millionth paid ride. Musk says the robotaxis will be running on an improved version of Full Self-Driving and the cabs will be safe. He also says the service will be able to expand rapidly around the country. His secret weapon: Millions of Tesla owners now on the roads. He says an over-the-air software update will soon allow them to turn their cars into driverless cabs and start a side business while stuck at the office for eight hours or on vacation for a week. “Instead of having your car sit in the parking lot, your car could be earning money,” Musk said earlier this year, calling it an Airbnb model for cars. Musk finally rolls out his driverless Tesla taxis after years of promises | AP News

The Creator of Baby Ruth Actually Sued Babe Ruth –The Baby Ruth candy bar was created by the Curtiss Candy Company in 1920 — the same year that baseball legend Babe Ruth hit a then-record 54 home runs. But the Great Bambino was irked that the company was selling a candy bar with such a similar name to his own without offering him any royalties. Rather than take the Curtiss Candy Company to court, the Sultan of Swat decided to make his own candy bar, and in 1926 he debuted Ruth’s Home Run bar. The Curtiss Candy Company responded by turning the tables and taking Ruth to court. They accused the slugger of trying to steal their trademark and capitalize on the success of their brand. In a 1931 deposition, Curtiss founder Otto Schnering insisted the candy was named after “Baby Ruth” Cleveland — the daughter of President Grover Cleveland.  He also attested that the company came up with the name in 1919 before the baseball player had become a household name and that the name was merely coincidental. While the validity of those claims is disputed to this day, the court nonetheless ruled in favor of the candy company, forcing Ruth to end his foray into the world of candy.