Uber, Lucid Motors and Nuro unveiled the production version of the collaborative robotaxi at the Consumer Electronics Show 2026, and TechCrunch got a sneak peek ahead of the unveiling.
It’s a vehicle that’s been in the works for more than half a year now, part of a deal that saw Uber invest $300 million in Lucid and commit to buying 20,000 of the company’s EVs. On Monday, the companies said the robotaxi is already being tested on public roads ahead of a planned commercial service to begin in the San Francisco Bay Area later this year.
Built on a Lucid Gravity SUV, the robotaxi features high-resolution cameras, solid-state lidar sensors and radar integrated into its body and roof-mounted ‘halo’. The range pack is powered by Nvidia’s Drive AGX Thor computer. This halo also has integrated LED lights to help riders identify their vehicle (similar to how Waymo’s Jaguar I-Pace SUVs work).
Importantly, all of this extra technology is added to the Gravity as it is manufactured at Lucid Motors’ Casa Grande, Arizona plant, saving companies time and money. By comparison, Waymo currently has to take apart the I-Pace SUVs it receives from Jaguar and incorporate autonomous technology as it reassembles them. (Future Waymo vehicles are planned to be more custom-built.)
The vehicle unveiled Monday is a more refined version of the prototype that the three companies have spent the past seven months showing off in press photos. The newest thing revealed at CES has to do with how users will interface with the Uber-Lucid-Nuro robotaxi. This includes a small screen in the halo meant to welcome riders and a route interface inside the cabin.
Anyone who has driven in Waymo will find this interface experience familiar. The rear passenger display shows an isometric graphic view of the robotaxi driving through city streets, with representations of nearby cars and pedestrians.
The companies did not yet have an interactive version of the software – which is being created by Uber – ready for testing. But it’s built to show the standard information like estimated delivery time, remaining travel time, and climate and music controls. There are also buttons to reach the rider support and tell the robotaxi to pull over.
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The passenger display shows much of the same information, just on a larger central touchscreen. In the show car on display at the Fontainebleau Hotel, many of the same elements appeared on the Gravity’s sweeping curved 34-inch OLED screen, which sits behind the steering wheel.
Uber chose to build this upcoming “premium” robotaxi service around Gravity, and at a high level it seems like a wise decision. The Gravity is extremely spacious inside, especially in the two-row configuration featured in the hotel. (Uber says a three-row version will also be available.)
That said, Gravity’s first full year came with struggles. Lucid ran into software problems as it ramped up production of the SUV, and the problems became severe enough that interim CEO Marc Winterhoff sent an email to owners in December apologizing for the “frustrations” they experienced.
Lucid has seemingly been able to bounce back from that, and on Monday announced that it has doubled its 2024 production figures and hit new sales records. Time will tell if the robotaxi version has any of the same software issues.
Uber, Lucid and Nuro said Monday that once final validation is completed on the robotaxi later this year, real production versions will begin rolling off Lucid’s Arizona factory lines. However, the companies did not give a specific timeline for this.
