Uber, Lucid Motors, and Nuro have announced a production-intended version of their collaborative robotaxi at the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show, and TechCrunch got a sneak peek ahead of its unveiling.
It’s a vehicle that’s been in the works for more than a year and a half now, as part of a deal that saw Uber invest $300 million into Lucid and commit to buying 20,000 of the company’s EVs. On Monday, the company said the robotaxi has been tested on public roads ahead of a commercial service it plans to launch in the San Francisco Bay Area later this year.
Built on the Lucid Gravity SUV, the robotaxi has a high-resolution camera, a solid state lidar sensor, and a radar integrated into its body and a roof-mounted “halo”. The autonomy package is powered by Nvidia’s Drive AGX Thor computer. The halo also has integrated LED lights that will help riders identify their vehicle (similar to how Waymo’s Jaguar I-Pace SUV works).
Importantly, all of this extra technology was added to the Gravity because it was built at Lucid Motors’ Casa Grande, Arizona plant, saving the company time and money. By way of comparison, Waymo now has to ditch the I-Pace SUV it got from Jaguar and integrate autonomous technology while reassembling it. (Waymo’s future vehicles are planned to be more purpose-built.)
The vehicle announced on Monday is an improved version of the trial run by the three companies over the last seven months shown in the press photo. The latest element revealed at CES is related to the user interface with the Uber-Lucid-Nuro robotaxi. That includes a small screen in the halo meant to greet riders and the ride interface inside the cabin.
Anyone who has ridden a Waymo will be familiar with this UI experience. The rear passenger screen shows an isometric graphic view of the robotaxi moving through city streets, with close-up representations of cars and pedestrians.
The company does not have a version of the interactive software – which was created by Uber – ready to test. But it’s built to show standard information like estimated drop-off time, how much ride time is left, and climate and music controls. There is also a button to reach rider support and tell the robotaxi to back off.
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The front passenger screen shows much of the same information, only on a larger central touchscreen. In the demonstration car on display at the Fontainebleau hotel, many of the same elements are visible on the curved 34-inch Gravity OLED display, located behind the steering wheel.
Uber chose to build its upcoming “premium” robotaxi service around Gravity, and to a high degree it seems like a wise decision. Gravity is very wide, especially in the two-row configuration displayed in the hotel. (Uber says a three-row version is also available.)
That said, Gravity’s first full year came with struggles. Lucid battled with software problems as it ramped up SUV production, and the problem became bad enough that interim CEO Marc Winterhoff sent an email to owners in December apologizing for the “frustration” they experienced.
Lucid seems to be making a comeback, and on Monday announced that it doubled its 2024 production figure and hit a new sales record. Time will tell if the robotaxi version has the same kind of software struggles.
Uber, Lucid, and Nuro said Monday that once final validation is completed on the robotaxi by the end of this year, a true production version will begin rolling down Lucid’s factory lines in Arizona. However, the company did not provide a concrete timeline.