Lucid lands $300 million from Uber to launch autonomous EV fleet

Lucid has announced a $300 million investment from Uber in a strategic partnership to develop and build premium self-driving electric cars. The robotaxis will be exclusive to Uber’s ride-hailing operation.

Lucid will base the robotaxis on its EV technology platform, specifically the Lucid Gravity. They will be assembled at its Arizona factory.

The first batches are expected to arrive in 2026, when the premium ride-hailing service is set to launch in a major US city. Uber plans to scale up to more than 20,000 Lucid’s autonomous taxis in six years.

The partnership will bring together Lucid’s advanced vehicle architecture and features such as extended driving range and luxury offerings, Nuro’s Level 4 autonomous driving package, and Uber’s global fleet management expertise.

Lucid’s interim CEO, Marc Winterhoff, stated, “Lucid’s innovations and technologies are second to none, and Uber’s investment is just the latest example of a third-party validating our highly advanced technical platform. We look forward to further strengthening our close working partnership with Uber in the years to come, and continuing to explore new markets, opportunities, and partners that can best leverage Lucid’s leading technology.”

With this partnership, Lucid can claim a somewhat middle position between Waymo’s reliability and Tesla’s cost-driven robotaxi program. The latter EV maker launched its autonomous taxi service in Texas in June, with ambitions to expand to half the US population by the end of the year.