Transportation

Uber Launches Autonomous Taxi Service by 2026

OCT 29 2025·Updated OCT 30 2025

Story

Above: Uber signage at the company's headquarters in San Francisco, on Aug. 3, 2025. Image credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The Facts

Uber announced on Wednesday that the San Francisco Bay Area will be the first target market for its specially built autonomous taxi service, with a launch expected in late 2026 through a collaboration with Lucid Motors and Nuro.
ABC News
The Economic Times
The autonomous vehicles are based on the Lucid Gravity SUV and will be exclusive to Uber, with Lucid recently delivering test vehicles to Nuro for retrofitting with self-driving technology components.
Business Insider
The New Indian Express
Uber plans to deploy 100 test vehicles on Bay Area roads in the coming months as part of its engineering fleet, with testing and validation led by Nuro including simulation and closed-course evaluations.
Verge
INKL
Within six years, Uber intends to deploy 20,000 or more Lucid-based autonomous taxis across multiple locations, with vehicles owned by Uber or third-party fleet management partners and accessible through the Uber app.
The New Indian Express
CBS News
Uber is collaborating with multiple companies on autonomous vehicle development, including partnerships with Stellantis and Nvidia for 5,000 vehicles by 2028, and WeRide for development of a robotaxi service in Saudi Arabia.
INKL
ABC News
Waymo currently operates autonomous taxis in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Austin, while Uber partners with Waymo for autonomous rides in Austin and Atlanta through its existing service network.
The New Indian Express
Uber

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The Spin

Techno-optimist narrative

Autonomous vehicles represent a revolutionary technological advancement and safety breakthrough that will save lives. Studies show AVs could have prevented 1,300 deaths in California alone over three years because they don't drive drunk, speed or get distracted as humans do. These machines will be held to higher safety standards than fallible human drivers, making roads dramatically safer for everyone.

ITSDigest

Business Insider

arXiv

Techno-skeptic narrative

Robotaxis are destroying livelihoods while putting public safety at risk with their reckless deployment. These vehicles have blocked emergency responders over 60 times, rolled over fire hoses during house fires and killed pets. Meanwhile, human drivers are working longer hours for less pay as tech companies treat San Francisco like their personal testing ground.

CBS News