If you spot a Lucid Gravity SUV in San Francisco, loaded with sensors and a self-driving system by Nuro, an Uber employee is likely taking a ride. Select Uber employees can now request a Lucid robotaxi through the Uber app, marking the latest testing phase before a public launch later this year. Nuro, which shared the update Monday, told TechCrunch these vehicles operate autonomously but have a human safety operator ready to take over.
While this isn’t a public launch, it shows the progress the companies have made since announcing their partnership and a multimillion-dollar investment in July 2025. Uber invested $300 million in Lucid and also agreed to buy “at least” 20,000 of Lucid’s new Gravity SUV over the next six years.
These electric vehicles come equipped with Nuro’s autonomous driving system, powered by Nvidia’s Drive AGX Thor computer. The Lucid Gravity robotaxi, first revealed in January, uses high-resolution cameras, solid-state lidar sensors, and radars. These help the self-driving system understand its surroundings and operate safely.
Uber also put an undisclosed “multi-hundred-million dollar” amount into Nuro. The plan is for Uber to own and operate this premium robotaxi service, likely with help from a third party. Production of these specially modified Lucid Gravity vehicles is expected to start in late 2026, according to a regulatory filing from last year.
Nuro finished its closed-course testing and began its first public road tests of the autonomous Lucid Gravity SUVs late last year. Nuro currently has 100 Lucid Gravity SUVs fitted with its self-driving system in its engineering fleet. These vehicles collect real-world data and test autonomous driving in several U.S. cities and states.
These employee test rides help the team check how the autonomous system, the vehicle, and the rider experience all work together in a real operating environment. It also lets them test how well the vehicle handles picking up and dropping off riders, which is a famously tricky part of autonomous ride-hailing.
