Uber's Latest Robotaxi Plan Involves 20,000 Lucid Evs

Uber is investing hundreds of millions of dollars successful Nuro and Lucid, nan latest measurement successful nan company’s scheme to build an extended robotaxi programme that tin rotation retired globally. Uber’s business pinch EV shaper Lucid will spot it deploy astatine slightest 20,000 of nan Newark-based company’s vehicles complete a play of six years. These will beryllium equipped pinch nan AI-powered Nuro Driver autonomous technology. The vehicles will beryllium owned and operated by Uber aliases 1 of its third-party partners, and nan work will beryllium exclusive to Uber users.

The robotaxi work is expected to motorboat successful precocious 2026 successful an unnamed "major US city," and Uber said that a prototype of an operational autonomous Lucid-Nuro conveyance is presently being tested connected a closed circuit astatine a Nuro installation successful Las Vegas. According to nan caller partners, nan robotaxi will use from nan Lucid Gravity SUV’s "advanced exertion platform, redundant electrical and controls architectures, and agelong range," pinch nan second estimated to beryllium astir 450 miles.

Nuro will beryllium responsible for overseeing nan extended information checks. These scope from simulations to on-road testing and are marked connected "dozens" of categories. The approved Lucid Gravity robotaxi will run astatine level 4 autonomy, which fundamentally makes it almost afloat self-driving and capable to execute nan mostly of its functions without immoderate quality intervention.

Uber has spent overmuch of this twelvemonth expanding its robotaxi ambitions done various team-ups pinch nan likes of Volkswagen and British AI institution Wayve, pinch whom it plans to bring robotaxis to nan UK for nan first clip adjacent year. Back successful March, Uber launched its robotaxi work pinch Waymo successful Austin, building connected nan existing offering successful Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Waymo One covers 37 quadrate miles of nan city, and Uber users tin thrust successful 1 by ordering an UberX, Uber Green, Uber Comfort aliases Uber Comfort Electric.

Earlier this week, Uber besides announced a caller partnership pinch China-based Baidu, which will spot nan 2 companies bring Baidu’s Apollo Go autonomous vehicles to mainland China and different non-US (no astonishment there) markets astir nan world.