This is Uber’s new robotaxi from Lucid and Nuru

Uber, Lucid Motors, and Nuro unveiled the production version of their collaborative robotaxi at the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show, and TechCrunch got a sneak peek ahead of the reveal.

It’s a vehicle that has been in the works for more than half a year now, and is part of a deal that has seen Uber invest $300 million in Lucid and commit to buying 20,000 of the company’s electric vehicles. The companies said Monday that robotaxis are already being tested on public roads ahead of a planned commercial service launch in the San Francisco Bay Area later this year.

Based on the Lucid Gravity SUV, the robot has high-resolution cameras, solid lidar sensors, and radars built into the body and a roof-mounted “halo.” The autonomous package is powered by Nvidia’s Drive AGX Thor computer. This halo also has built-in LED lights that will help riders recognize their vehicle (similar to how Waymo’s Jaguar I-Pace SUVs work).

More importantly, all of this extra technology was added to the Gravity while it was being manufactured at Lucid Motors’ Casa Grande, Arizona, plant, saving companies some time and money. By comparison, Waymo currently has to dismantle the I-Pace SUVs it receives from Jaguar and integrate autonomous technology as it puts them back together. (Waymo’s future vehicles are planned to be designed specifically for this purpose.)

The car unveiled on Monday is a more polished version of the concept that the three companies have spent the past seven months showing off in press photos. The latest item unveiled at CES concerns how users will interact with the Uber-Lucid-Nuro robotaxi. This includes a small halo display dedicated to greeting riders and an in-cabin riding interface.

Anyone who has ridden a Waymo will find this user interface experience familiar. The rear passenger screen displays an isometric graphic display of the robotaxi moving through city streets, with representations of nearby cars and pedestrians.

The companies didn’t have an interactive version of the software — which is being created by Uber — ready for testing yet. But it’s designed to show standard information like estimated delivery time, amount of ride time remaining, climate controls and music. There are also buttons to reach rider support and tell the robotaxi to stop.

The front passenger display displays much of the same information, just on a larger central touchscreen. In the concept car on display at the Fontainebleau Hotel, many of the same elements appeared on Gravity’s 34-inch curved OLED display, which is located behind the steering wheel.

Uber has chosen to build its highly anticipated “premium” robotaxi service around gravity, and at a high level that seems like a wise decision. The Gravity is extremely spacious inside, especially in the two-row layout offered at the hotel. (Uber says a three-row version will also be available.)

However, Gravity’s first full year came full of struggles. Lucid ran into software issues while ramping up production of the SUV, and the problems got worse enough that interim CEO Mark Winterhoff sent an email to owners in December apologizing for the “frustrations” they had experienced.

Lucid appears to have been able to bounce back, announcing on Monday that it has doubled its production numbers for 2024 and reached new sales records. Time will tell if the robotaxi version has any of the same types of software issues.

Uber, Lucid and Nuro said Monday that once final validation on the robo-taxis is completed later this year, real production versions will begin rolling out of Lucid’s factory lines in Arizona. But the companies did not provide a specific timetable for this.