Three months after announcing a major partnership to bring Lucid Gravity SUVs to the ride-hailing market as autonomous robotaxis, Uber has revealed where the vehicles will first debut. As expected, the San Francisco Bay Area will serve as the launch site for the next-generation service, set to begin operations in 2026.
In July, Uber Technologies committed to a $300 million investment in Lucid Group, the parent company of Lucid Motors, to deploy at least 20,000 Lucid vehicles as robotaxis over the next six years.
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These vehicles—starting with the Gravity SUV—will operate using Nuro Driver, a Level 4 autonomous system developed by robotics firm Nuro. Nuro is already known for its zero-occupant delivery vehicles and existing partnerships with Uber Eats.
Lucid recently delivered its first Gravity SUV to Nuro for retrofitting with the Nuro Driver system. Uber confirmed that testing with the Lucid Gravity robotaxi engineering fleet is already underway in the Bay Area, with plans to expand testing to more than 100 vehicles in the coming months.
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“Lucid has always celebrated its California roots, and we’re thrilled to make the San Francisco Bay Area the first market for our new robotaxi on the Uber platform, powered by the Nuro Driver,” said Marc Winterhoff, interim CEO of Lucid. “Beginning next year, riders will experience a level of convenience, safety, and comfort unlike anything else on the road.”
Lucid will integrate the necessary hardware for the autonomous system during assembly at its Arizona facility, while Nuro will install its proprietary software once the vehicles are ready. Uber stated that it continues to work closely with policymakers and regulators as it prepares for deployment. If timelines remain on track, Bay Area residents could be among the first to hail a fully driverless Lucid Gravity SUV through the Uber app in 2026.