- A deal between Lucid Motors, Uber and Nuro will bring autonomous Lucid Gravity SUVs to the Uber app.
- Commercial deployment starts next year in an unnamed U.S. city.
- Through the deal, Uber will invest $300 million into the fledgling EV startup and deploy at least 20,000 of its vehicles.
Tesla is hardly the only electric vehicle maker that's dabbling in the autonomous taxi space. Lucid Motors on Thursday announced that its three-row Gravity SUV will serve as a robotaxi on the Uber app starting next year.
It's a major deal for the fledgling EV startup and the latest step in Uber's quest to become the ultimate robotaxi platform.
Here's how the partnership will work. Since the Gravity doesn't come with autonomous capabilities, driverless technology will be provided by Nuro. The startup historically focused on developing autonomous delivery vehicles but recently pivoted to licensing its tech to automotive and ride-hailing companies.
Lucid will install Nuro's hardware—made up of LiDAR sensors, radars and cameras—into Gravity SUVs on its assembly line in Arizona. Uber and its fleet partners will buy those SUVs, and they'll be available to order exclusively via the Uber app.
As part of the deal, Uber will invest $300 million into Lucid—big news for a young automaker that's still burning cash. Moreover, Uber and its partners aim to buy and deploy at least 20,000 Lucid vehicles over six years. (The proceeds from those sales will be separate from the $300 million initial investment, a Lucid spokesperson said.) For context, Lucid sold some 10,000 Air sedans last year, though it expects sales to rise this year after the recent introduction of the Gravity.
Those Gravity SUVs will hit the Uber app in dozens of markets, the companies said, starting with an unnamed "major U.S. city."
Lucid shares popped by more than 40% my mid-day Thursday on the news.
“This investment from Uber further validates Lucid's fully redundant zonal architecture and highly capable platform as ideal for autonomous vehicles, and our industry-leading range and spacious well-appointed interiors, as ideal for ridesharing,” Marc Winterhoff, Lucid's interim CEO, said in a statement.
A Lucid spokesperson said that the Gravity was designed from the start to serve as an autonomous vehicle, with redundant braking and steering systems to ensure safe operation even if something breaks.
It's the latest in a flurry of robotaxi-related deals from Uber. The ride-hailing giant scrapped its in-house effort to develop self-driving cars years ago following a fatal accident, and has since placed a slew of bets on other players, including industry-leader Waymo.
Waymo's self-driving Jaguars are exclusively available via the Uber app in Atlanta, Georgia, and Austin, Texas. Uber has also struck similar deals with Baidu, WeRide, AVRide, Wayve and May Mobility.
Plus, a deal with Volkswagen means you may be choosing between an autonomous ID.Buzz or Gravity someday soon.
Contact the author: Tim.Levin@InsideEVs.com
[Updated 11:45 am PT with move in Lucid's stock price.]
