Lucid Motors unveiled on Thursday a purpose-built robotaxi concept called Lunar — a two-seat vehicle based on its midsize platform that the company claims would achieve 5.5 to 6.0 miles per kilowatt-hour and reduce operating costs by 40% compared with current robotaxi fleets.
Interim chief executive Marc Winterhoff revealed the vehicle on stage at the company’s first-ever investor day in New York, inviting Uber president and chief operating officer Andrew Macdonald to sit inside the model.
The disclosure came minutes after Macdonald announced that Uber is finalising a deal to deploy Lucid’s midsize platform as a robotaxi at volumes comparable to the 20,000 Gravity SUVs already under contract.
“It doesn’t mean we can do this tomorrow. As you can see, it’s still a concept,” he said. “But we can implement a two-seat robotaxi in a very, very short period of time.”
The Saudi-backed EV maker named the fully autonomous concept vehicle Lunar.
The Vehicle
The two-seat, purpose-built autonomous vehicle marks the first time Lucid has shown a model designed exclusively for fleet use with no human driver.
Winterhoff said it shares significant commonality with the midsize platform but incorporates changes to improve efficiency and reduce cost for robotaxi operations.
The cabin is oriented around two forward-facing passenger seats with what Winterhoff described as easy ingress and egress — a design priority he said was informed by rider complaints about existing robotaxis.
“In some robotaxis, it’s very easy because they’re very bulky, but they’re not very efficient. And others are differently designed, but it’s very hard to get in and out,” he said.
A front luggage compartment is accessible without opening a separate trunk.
“If it’s a short trip, take luggage or anything here in the front. You don’t even have to open the front, just put it in here,” Winterhoff told Macdonald on stage.
The interior features a wide screen in the front of the cabin — where a dashboard would sit in a conventional vehicle.
He said the vehicle also includes an AI assistant, though it was not activated during the demonstration.
Efficiency and Cost Claims
The headline figures were on efficiency and operating cost.
Winterhoff said the concept would achieve between 5.5 and 6.0 miles per kilowatt-hour — a figure he described as “a significant step up” from the midsize platform’s already class-leading efficiency.
For context, the Lucid Air currently holds the highest EPA-rated efficiency of any electric vehicle on the US market.
If the 5.5-to-6.0 figure holds in production, it would represent a substantial improvement over existing robotaxi platforms, including the Waymo Jaguar I-Pace fleet and the Tesla Model Y vehicles used in early autonomous deployments.
Winterhoff estimated that operating costs would be “40% less than what is currently being used as robotaxis.”
He framed the reduction as driven by the vehicle’s efficiency, purpose-built design, and platform commonality with the midsize architecture.
“For you, that’s very important — cost per mile. And 40% is a significant number,” Winterhoff said to Macdonald.
He added that the in-vehicle screen and AI assistant create “opportunities not only for customer experience, but even additional monetisation potential.”
Uber’s Reaction
Macdonald said Uber’s customers are “very, very interested in working with you guys and driving this further,” though he noted the two companies have not yet discussed whether the Lunar’s specifications match what Uber is looking for in a dedicated robotaxi.
‘As I said, we have not yet discussed whether that’s exactly the specs that you guys are looking at, but our teams have actually spent already, in my opinion, way too much time to develop that concept and drive it to where it is today,’ Winterhoff responded.
The exchange suggested the Lunar was developed by Lucid independently rather than as a joint project with Uber — a contrast with the Gravity robotaxi programme, where Macdonald said earlier in the session that the two companies’ teams work together daily on vehicle design and rider experience.
Tesla Cybercab Comparison
The Lunar’s format — a compact, two-seat, purpose-built autonomous vehicle with no steering wheel or pedals — invites direct comparison with Tesla’s Cybercab, which is scheduled to begin production in April at the company’s Austin, Texas factory.
Tesla has said it expects to produce the Cybercab at a cost below $30,000 per unit, targeting ride-hailing economics from the outset.
Lucid did not disclose a target production cost, production timeline, or manufacturing location for the Lunar.
Winterhoff described it only as a concept based on the midsize platform, which itself is expected to enter production in late 2026.
