Uber acquires 3% stake in Lucid to build its own robotaxi fleet and challenge Waymo and Tesla.

ROME – Uber is investing $300 million in American electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid to create its own fleet of robotaxis. The news, which sent Lucid shares soaring nearly 40% mid-session on the Nasdaq, confirms the strong interest surrounding the nascent autonomous taxi market. Google-owned Waymo is currently leading the charge, but Tesla has recently entered the market, demonstrating that the robotaxis market will likely be one of the main battlegrounds between the tech giants. Founded in 2009 as an internal Google project and spun off under Alphabet (the internet giant's parent company), Waymo now has more than 700 self-driving vehicles operating in cities such as Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, and soon New York. Uber itself has partnered with Google to offer driverless rides in Atlanta, Georgia, and Austin, Texas. The same city Tesla chose to launch its robotaxi service last June, albeit with a still limited fleet and within a restricted area.

Uber's investment in Lucid, however, marks a shift in the app-based transportation giant's commitment to self-driving services. It could further intensify competition in the robotaxi space. Under the agreement, Uber will acquire approximately 3% of Lucid through a capital increase and has committed to purchasing at least 20,000 autonomous vehicles, based on the Lucid Gravity SUV, within six years of the start of production in the second half of 2026. These cars, owned by Uber and usable exclusively through its platform, will be developed specifically for the platform in collaboration with the startup Nuro, which specializes in self-driving software. Lucid and Nuro are already testing a robotaxi prototype on a closed circuit in Las Vegas. The goal is to soon see them on the streets of many American cities.