Uber unveils its “most luxurious robotaxi”, in partnership with Lucid and Nuro

At CES 2026, the companies are sharing more details about the upcoming Lucid Gravity autonomous SUV, which is expected to hit the road with passengers later this year.

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Abrar’s interests include phones, streaming, autonomous vehicles, internet trends, entertainment, pop culture and digital accessibility. In addition to her current role, she has worked on CNET’s video, culture and news teams. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Even though Illinois is her home, she now loves San Francisco – steep hills and all.

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Uber is preparing to launch its autonomous driving partnership with autonomous vehicle company Nuro and electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors later this year, and is using CES to showcase what’s in store for future drivers.

On Monday, the three companies shared more details about the upcoming Lucid Gravity SUV robotaxi, from its design to the rider experience. The autonomous driving partnership is expected to begin in late 2026 in the San Francisco Bay Area before expanding to other cities.

As is standard on most autonomous vehicles (AVs), the Lucid Gravity robotaxi will be equipped with a suite of cameras, lidar sensors and radars for road navigation. A roof-mounted screen with LEDs will display a passenger’s initials to help flag the correct vehicle, similar to what passengers see when hailing a vehicle. Waymo robotaxis, for example.

Uber, which has more than a dozen AV partnerships (including one with Waymo), calls the upcoming Lucid AV “the most luxurious robotaxi in the industry.” This isn’t surprising, given that the non-standalone version of the Lucid Gravity starts at around $80,000. (The only vehicle currently in Waymo’s fleet, the Jaguar I-Pace, also falls into the luxury car category.)

Uber says this is the first time it has “designed the driver experience into the vehicle.” This will include interactive screens capable of activating heated seats, controlling the temperature and playing music. There will also be options to contact assistance or have the vehicle stopped. (Again, this is similar to what you’ll see on other robotaxis from companies like Waymo or Zoox).

The Lucid Gravity robotaxi can accommodate up to six passengers, which should be an advantage over vehicles from Waymo and Zoox, which can only accommodate four. The Gravity will also have “generous luggage space”, although it’s unclear exactly how many bags it could accommodate.

Bringing autonomous driving options to more rideshare passengers

Uber, Lucid and Nuro announced their partnership in July. Uber will manage the ride-hailing operations, Lucid will manufacture the vehicles, and Nuro will equip the autonomous driving technology.

While ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft have long abandoned their autonomous driving ambitions, they are partnering with a growing number of AV companies to establish their presence in a rapidly evolving space. Uber works with companies like Volkswagen and Avride, while Lyft recently partnered with Tensor. Both Uber and Lyft have partnerships with Waymo and May Mobility. For drivers, having a self-driving option built into an app already installed on their phone can lower the barrier to entry – and potentially make the jump into a self-driving car more appealing.

Uber aims to deploy at least 20,000 Lucid vehicles with the Nuro driver on board over the next six years and across multiple locations, following this year’s launch in San Francisco. The companies began autonomous road tests last month, supervised by human operators, in the Bay Area.

“By combining cutting-edge expertise in electric vehicles, autonomy and ridesharing, we are building a unique new option for affordable and scalable autonomous rides in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond,” Sarfraz Maredia, global head of autonomous mobility and delivery at Uber, said in a statement.

Production of the Lucid Gravity robotaxi is expected to begin later this year at the company’s Arizona factory, pending final validation.