Uber plans to offer autonomous taxi rides in San Francisco starting next year

Uber announced on Wednesday that it will be launching its specially built autonomous taxi in the San Francisco Bay Area, making it the first market for this innovative technology. The launch is expected to take place in late 2026.

This autonomous taxi is a result of Uber’s collaboration with the electric car company Lucid and the self-driving technology company Nuro Inc. The vehicle, which is exclusive to Uber, is based on the Lucid Gravity SUV. Test vehicles have already been delivered to Nuro by Lucid, with Uber planning to have 100 test vehicles on the road in the coming months.

In the next six years, Uber aims to deploy 20,000 or more Lucid-based autonomous taxis in various locations, all of which will be accessible to riders through the Uber app. The company is working with multiple partners to expedite the deployment of autonomous taxis.

In addition to the collaboration with Lucid and Nuro, Uber is also working with tech company Nvidia and automaker Stellantis to develop robotaxis. Stellantis is set to begin production of at least 5,000 vehicles powered by Nvidia software for autonomous taxi operations in the U.S. in 2028.

Furthermore, Uber has recently started offering autonomous taxi rides in Saudi Arabia through a partnership with WeRide, a Chinese autonomous tech company. This move marks a significant step for Uber, as the world’s largest ride-hailing service, in adopting autonomous taxi technology.

While autonomous taxis are not a new concept, Uber’s involvement in this space is noteworthy given its widespread operations in 15,000 cities across more than 70 countries. Waymo, owned by Google parent Alphabet, has been testing autonomous taxis in cities like Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Austin. Waymo also has plans to expand to London next year.

Uber is also partnering with Waymo on autonomous taxis in Austin, further solidifying its commitment to integrating autonomous technology into its ride-hailing services. The future of transportation is undoubtedly evolving, with autonomous taxis poised to play a significant role in reshaping the way we travel.