The Robotaxi competition is heating up! Tesla accelerates its layout while Uber, Lucid, and Nuro form an alliance to strike back
Tesla plans to have its robotaxi service cover half of the U.S. population by the end of 2025, currently operating limited services only in Austin, Texas. Meanwhile, Lucid, Nuro, and Uber have formed a partnership to launch the next generation of robotaxi services that combine high-end electric vehicles and autonomous driving technology, expected to debut in major U.S. cities in 2026 and expand to global markets within six years
According to the Zhitong Finance APP, the revolution of autonomous driving taxis (robotaxi) seems to be heating up. Tesla (TSLA.US) CEO Elon Musk stated during the earnings call that the company's goal is to have robotaxi services cover half of the U.S. population by the end of 2025. Currently, Tesla's robotaxi fleet operates only in a limited area in Austin, Texas, and even within that area, Tesla employees or safety drivers must be present in the vehicle.
Meanwhile, Lucid Group (LCID.US), Nuro, and Uber (UBER.US) have reached a collaboration to launch a next-generation robotaxi service that combines high-end electric vehicles, mature autonomous driving technology, and Uber's global ride-hailing platform.
Uber plans to deploy 20,000 or more Lucid vehicles equipped with Nuro's autonomous driving system within six years, making this project one of the largest robotaxi collaborations announced to date. These vehicles will be owned and operated by Uber or its third-party fleet partners. The base model will have a range of approximately 450 miles per charge. The Nuro Driver advanced autonomous driving system will support Level 4 autonomous driving—Nuro Driver is emphasized as a system that integrates hardware and AI-driven software, providing safe, scalable, and highly reliable automation capabilities. This robotaxi service is set to launch in a major U.S. city in 2026, with plans to expand to dozens of markets worldwide over the following six years.
Nuro CEO Jiajun Zhu stated, "Nuro has been dedicated to building an AI-driven autonomous driving system for nearly a decade, ensuring its safety, scalability, and vehicle universality. Over the past five years, we have achieved driverless deployments in multiple U.S. cities and states. By combining our autonomous driving technology with Lucid's advanced vehicle architecture and Uber's global platform, we are proud to drive a robotaxi service for millions of people worldwide."
