Uber and Nuro have started employee testing of a Lucid Gravity robotaxi.

      The Lucid Gravity SUV is equipped with Nuro’s autonomous driving technology, powered by Nvidia Drive AGX Thor, with a human safety operator behind the wheel. Uber has pledged to purchase at least 20,000 of these vehicles over the next six years.

      Uber and Nuro have initiated employee test rides of a premium robotaxi service in San Francisco, utilizing the Lucid Gravity SUV with Nuro’s autonomous system. Selected Uber employees can now request rides via the Uber app; these vehicles operate autonomously but are overseen by a human safety operator as a precaution.

      This development signifies the latest stage in a partnership that was announced in July 2025, where Uber invested $300 million in Lucid and made an undisclosed multi-hundred-million dollar investment in Nuro. The Lucid Gravity robotaxi was publicly unveiled in January 2026 and is equipped with high-resolution cameras, solid-state lidar sensors, and radar systems that contribute to Nuro’s autonomy stack, powered by Nvidia’s Drive AGX Thor compute platform.

      Nuro has a fleet of 100 Lucid Gravity SUVs for engineering purposes, which are being utilized for real-world data collection and autonomous driving testing across several US cities and states. The production of modified vehicles for commercial use is anticipated to commence in late 2026, as per a regulatory filing.

      The employee testing phase aims to assess how well the autonomy system, the vehicle, and the rider experience integrate in a real-world setting, especially focusing on pickup and drop-off operations, which pose significant technical challenges for autonomous ride-hailing.

      Uber plans to purchase at least 20,000 Gravity SUVs over the next six years and intends to own and operate the premium robotaxi service, potentially with a third-party operator's help. The partnership between Uber and Nuro is one of several robotaxi collaborations Uber has formed as it implements a platform strategy that allows it to remain in the ride-hailing sector without incurring the complete cost of developing autonomous vehicle technology internally.

      Uber's investment in Verne, the Zagreb-based robotaxi service that launched Europe’s first commercial autonomous ride service in April 2026, follows a similar rationale. A public launch of the Lucid/Nuro service in San Francisco is scheduled for later in 2026.

      Published April 14, 2026 - 8:04 am UTC