Amazon announced the acquisition of Zoox, the start-up of autonomous cars, making it its first deal in the automotive industry controlled by the American company Tesla.
The rivalry between "Blue" and "SpaceX" owners Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, Tesla's founder, moved from space to Earth after this acquisition, which was acquired by Amazon, by more than a billion dollars.
Amazon shared few details on how it plans to use the XOX technology in a post on its blog, saying, "The Zux leadership team, including CEO Aisha Evans and chief technology officer Jesse Levinson, will continue to run the company as an independent business."
Analysts say Amazon's acquisition of Zox gives a good look at its thinking in a number of different areas, including expanding delivery and a future merger and acquisition strategy.
Elon Musk mocks Jeff Bezos
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors, received the news of Amazon's acquisition of the emerging self-driving car company Zux on Friday, with a satirical tweet accusing his rival of "emulating" him.
Musk, in his tweet, hinted that Jeff Bezos is imitating by disguising the word "Copycat", which means "illegal" by copying "Copy" and replacing a cat with the word "Cat".
. @ JeffBezos is a copy đ haha ââhttps://t.co/plR7uupqBG
- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 26, 2020
Mark Matusic of Business Insider reported in May that Amazon was interested in Zox to help end its parcel delivery process.
Zux cars are designed to work as taxis and delivery orders, unlike Tesla cars that are designed directly for customers.
Musk had said in 2019 that by mid-2020, his company's self-driving cars would be fully operational without human interaction, meaning that drivers wouldn't have to look at the road while driving. Zox founder and head of technology department Jesse Levinson replied to IGNITION the same year that there was no chance of that happening.
"They don't have enough sensors or computers to do this, especially if we take into account the absence of a known technology for remote control which is ready for use today," Levinson said at the conference, adding that "their cars are great" considering that Tesla's self-driving system is the best but on Straight roads only.
Zux recently estimated $ 3 billion and $ 200 million, just like other independent car companies, but received a financial blow due to the economic fallout from the Corona epidemic and laid off 120 employees in April. The company has struggled to raise the capital recently, and according to Axios, the deal could help it survive.
The acquisition of Zox confirms the growing interest of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in the general automobile industry. Bezos previously told employees he was "very excited" by the auto industry because of all the innovations taking place, adding that it was an area he wanted to "participate in."
The acquisition of Zox comes after Amazon has invested in other auto-related startups in recent years, including the self-driving Aurora and Rivian, the electric car maker.
The acquisition of Zux could open the door for Amazon to enter the passenger and food delivery markets as well.