Uber is partnering with Lucid to create its first robotaxi, competing directly with Elon Musk. Tesla recently unveiled its long-awaited robotaxi service, and now the manufacturer of the so-called “world’s best electric SUV,” the Lucid Gravity, has partnered with Uber and AI company Nuro to manufacture 20,000 robotaxis over the next six years.
Uber will invest $300 million in Lucid Motors
The battle is on. Recently, social media was talking about the “disappointing” arrival of Tesla’s Robotaxi, as despite its high-profile announcement, the result hasn’t fully materialized. So now, Uber and Lucid will launch their own prototype. This is a giant step for Lucid, as, among other things, it’s on the verge of financial bankruptcy, so this agreement with Uber, the ride-hailing giant, could save its life. Not surprisingly, Uber will invest $300 million in Lucid Motors.
This news comes a week after Elon Musk announced the arrival of the robotaxi in Austin, Texas. The service, which would cost less than $5, is part of Musk’s plan to deploy up to 1 million of these rental vehicles in different cities within a year.
“Safely bring the magic of autonomous driving to more people around the world”
Uber is looking to be a serious competitor in this emerging autonomous vehicle market. Based on information available so far, this ambitious project plans to put more than 20,000 Lucid Gravity electric SUVs equipped with the Nuro Driver Level 4 autonomous driving system on U.S. roads over the next six years.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi emphasized the need to “safely bring the magic of autonomous driving to more people around the world.” The agreement between Lucid Motors and Uber will also feature the AI company Nuro, as we previously reported, which will install its hardware in the vehicles of the “world’s best electric SUV.” This hardware will contribute to the autonomous driving software that these upcoming robotaxis will incorporate.
“Nuro has spent almost a decade building an AI-first autonomy system”
According to the partners, the first Lucid Nuro Robotaxi prototype is already driving autonomously at a Nuro testing center in Las Vegas. The safety of the vehicles’ autonomous functions will be managed by Nuro, which will lead development and validation through simulations, closed-loop testing, and supervised road testing.
On the other hand, Jiajun Zhu, co-founder and CEO of Nuro, has expressed himself about this alliance: “Nuro has spent almost a decade building an AI-first autonomy system that is safe, scalable, and vehicle-agnostic, proven through five years of driverless deployments across multiple cities and states in the US,” and adds: “We believe this partnership will demonstrate what’s possible when proven AV technology meets real-world scale.”
Lucid Motors’ shares soaring by as much as 36%
The announcement between Tesla’s biggest rival and the world’s leading ride-hailing company sent Lucid Motors’ shares soaring by as much as 36%. Marc Winterhoff, CEO of Lucid, highlighted that this is “the beginning of a journey to extend its innovation and technological leadership in a multi-trillion-dollar market.” The top executive also specified that “this investment from Uber further validates Lucid’s fully redundant zone architecture and highly capable platform as ideal for autonomous vehicles, and our industry-leading portfolio and well-appointed, spacious interiors as ideal for ride-hailing.”
The truth is that the robotaxis are a reality. Either Tesla or Uber, but in a couple of years a taxi that drives itself is going to be as normal as make a videocall on your phone or write a message talking to your smartwatch.
