--- title: "Amazon’s Robotaxi Company Recalls Its Fleet After One of its Cars Got Confused by Heavy Smoke" description: "Zoox, the Amazon owned robotaxi, recalled its entire fleet after one of its vehicles got confused by a cloud of heavy smoke." date: "2026-07-19" modified: "2026-07-19" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/advanced-transport/amazon-robotaxi-confused-smoke-recall" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Self-Driving Vehicles" --- # Amazon’s Robotaxi Company Recalls Its Fleet After One of its Cars Got Confused by Heavy Smoke ![A photo illustration featuring a Zoox vehicle on a street.]() *Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: Andrej Sokolow / picture alliance via Getty Images* Zoox, the Amazon-owned robotaxi company, issued a recall after one of its self-driving cars blundered into a cloud of heavy smoke near a fire scene that emergency workers were responding to, and became confused. The recall, in the form of a software update, will affect its entire fleet of 105 autonomous robotaxis. The patch "enhances the existing capability of detecting active \[emergency\] scenes by adding the ability to detect and respond to heavy smoke in certain situations," Zoox [told *TechCrunch*]() in a statement. While you wouldn't be remiss for thinking this was related to the wildfire smoke covering much of the eastern US right now, the recall highlights how self-driving cars still struggle to respond to unpredictable conditions. In a report filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Zoox said that during the June 20 incident, one of its robotaxis "encountered heavy smoke that obscured an active emergency fire scene that was not cordoned off with cones." Though it should have avoided the smoke cloud, the vehicle, which wasn't carrying any passengers, "braked hard while attempting to steer away before coming to a stop," the company added. Eventually, a teleoperator intervened and helped reverse the robotaxi away from the scene, allowing first responders to place traffic cones to block off two of the three lanes. *CNBC* [reported]() that the incident occurred in Las Vegas, where Zoox is currently offering free rides. It's not the first time robotaxi companies have landed in hot water for impeding emergency responders. San Francisco Police were forced to help move immobilized Waymo robotaxis [that piled up in roadways in intersections]() during a city-wide power outage last year. Emergency responders [complained they'd become glorified "roadside assistance" for the vehicles](). In March, a Waymo robotaxi [blocked an ambulance]() from responding to the scene of a deadly mass shooting in Austin, Texas. These mounting incidents led NHTSA administrator Jonathan Morrison to send [a strongly-worded letter]() to robotaxi companies, calling their cars' interference with emergency responders "unacceptable." "Let me be clear: the inability to detect and appropriately respond to such situations represents a functional insufficiency," he wrote. "Emergency scenes are not rare or extreme 'edge cases.'" "To state it bluntly: an AV that cannot safely interact with first responders is a danger to the general public," he added. **More on robotaxis:** [*Robotaxis Are Turning Passengers Into Horrible and Entitled Menaces to Society*]() ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()