Lucid Group (LCID) Stock: Shares Surge 36% on Major Robotaxi Partnership with Uber and Nuro
TLDR
- Lucid Group partners with Uber and Nuro to develop robotaxis for Uber’s platform
- Lucid stock jumped 36% on Thursday, moving back into positive territory for 2025
- Partnership aims to deploy at least 20,000 Lucid vehicles with Nuro’s self-driving software over six years
- Service expected to launch in a major US city late next year
- Uber is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in both Lucid and Nuro
Lucid Group stock rocketed 36% on Thursday after announcing a three-way partnership with Uber Technologies and self-driving software maker Nuro. The deal will bring thousands of autonomous Lucid vehicles to Uber’s rideshare platform over the next six years.
The partnership combines Lucid’s electric vehicles with Nuro’s autonomous driving technology on Uber’s network. Under the agreement, the companies plan to deploy at least 20,000 self-driving Lucid vehicles equipped with Nuro’s software across multiple markets.
Lucid shares closed at $3.12, pushing the stock back into positive territory for 2025 after being down about 24% year-to-date before the announcement. Uber stock remained relatively flat, dropping 0.3% to $90.50 despite the partnership news.
The robotaxi service is expected to launch in an unnamed major US city late next year. Uber is backing the venture with hundreds of millions of dollars in investments split between Lucid and Nuro.
Lucid’s first Nuro-enhanced prototype vehicle is currently undergoing testing at Nuro’s Las Vegas facility. The companies are evaluating the autonomous driving capabilities before moving to full production.
Once testing proves successful, Lucid will begin manufacturing its Gravity SUVs with the necessary hardware to support Nuro’s self-driving software. The luxury vehicle maker expects to produce about 20,000 vehicles total in 2025.
Production Scale Questions
The partnership represents a massive scaling challenge for Lucid. The company produced just 9,029 vehicles in 2024, making the 20,000-vehicle robotaxi target over six years a substantial portion of its expected output.
Wedbush analysts raised concerns about the deal’s execution risks. They noted that Lucid and Nuro’s production and technology capabilities might not scale as quickly as Uber requires.
The analysts also warned the partnership could strain Uber’s relationship with Google’s Waymo, another key autonomous vehicle partner. They highlighted that established players like Waymo and Tesla have technology and scale advantages over the new partnership.
Growing Robotaxi Competition
The collaboration adds to Uber’s expanding portfolio of autonomous vehicle partnerships. The company recently expanded its work with Waymo in Atlanta and signed deals with other self-driving vehicle makers worldwide.
Competition in the robotaxi market is heating up rapidly. Tesla launched its own autonomous taxi service in Austin, Texas last month, while Waymo already completes more than 250,000 self-driving rides weekly.
Bank of America analysts recently identified dozens of companies positioned to benefit from the growing autonomous vehicle market. The list includes chipmaker Nvidia and heavy equipment maker Caterpillar.
Nuro CEO Jiajun Zhu emphasized the company’s experience in the announcement. He noted Nuro has spent nearly a decade developing AI-first autonomy systems with five years of driverless deployments across multiple US cities and states.
The partnership news comes as Lucid continues working to establish itself in the competitive electric vehicle market. The company’s Air sedan starts at approximately $70,000, positioning it in the luxury segment.
Either Uber or third-party fleet operators will own the robotaxi vehicles, though specific pricing details weren’t disclosed. The arrangement represents guaranteed vehicle sales for Lucid regardless of ownership structure.
Nuro currently operates autonomous vehicles in California and Texas, providing a foundation for the expanded partnership with Uber and Lucid.
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