Lucid Motors said on Tuesday that another shipment of robotaxis built at its Arizona factory was on its way to “the Bay” for partners Uber and Nuro, as the companies near a San Francisco Bay Area launch they have targeted for this year.
“Built in Arizona. Bound for the Bay. Another robotaxi shipment on the move as our fleet expands. Proud to keep delivering for our partners @Uber and @nuro,” the company wrote on X.
The post carried four photos of black Lucid Gravity SUVs fitted with roof-mounted sensor modules, parked in a row in a lot, plus one image taken near a truck trailer at a loading area.
Non Disclosed
Lucid did not say how many vehicles were in the shipment, how many it has built for the program in total or where in the Bay Area they would be based.
The word “another” suggests earlier deliveries, and Lucid’s own filings confirm them.
In its second-quarter results on August 4, Lucid said it had “begun delivering production-validation Lucid Gravity vehicles to Nuro,” describing the program as “a top priority.”
The company said then that the program was supported by “a fleet of nearly 100 vehicles across the San Francisco Bay Area and Houston,” a figure EV has tracked since March.
Engineering Fleet – Production Builds
Nuro said on June 17 that its test fleet was “expected to expand further in the coming weeks as Lucid manufactures the first production validation robotaxis at its Arizona factory.”
Those vehicles “will also be used for safety testing and homologation,” Nuro said in the same release, which named Houston as the program’s second market, with a launch planned for mid-2027.
At CES in January, the three companies said that, “pending final validation, the production intent robotaxi is expected to start production at Lucid’s Arizona factory later this year.”
The Uber Deal
The program dates to July 16, 2025, when Lucid signed a vehicle production agreement with Uber, according to a Form 8-K filed the next day.
Under it, Uber and its fleet operators agreed to buy a minimum of 20,000 Gravity Plus vehicles over six years from the start of production, “which is targeted to occur in late 2026.”
The minimum is conditioned on Lucid meeting certain volume and other requirements for the vehicles, the filing said.
In a joint release on July 17, 2025, the companies said the first launch was expected “later next year in a major US city,” and that Uber planned “multi-hundred-million dollar investments in both Nuro and Lucid.”
Uber subsidiary SMB Holding Corporation bought 13,715,121 Lucid shares at $21.87 each in September 2025, for net proceeds of $299.7 million, according to Lucid’s second-quarter 10-Q.
A second agreement, signed in April, covers a minimum of 25,000 Lucid Midsize Plus robotaxis, with production of that model targeted for late 2028.
Through offset provisions in the first contract, the two deals raise Uber’s total commitment to “at least 35,000 units,” the 10-Q said.
SMB bought a further 24,038,462 shares at $8.32 apiece in April 2026, a $200 million purchase that netted Lucid $199.8 million after costs.
Lucid said on April 14 that the additional $200 million raised Uber’s total investments in the company to $500 million.
Uber owned about 9.6% of Lucid’s common stock as of June 30, the 10-Q showed.
Lucid Chairman Turqi Alnowaiser, a deputy governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, has sat on Uber’s board since November 2023, according to Uber’s 2026 proxy statement.
Uber has not disclosed how much it has invested in Nuro, saying only in a 10-Q filing that part of the investment is payable as Nuro achieves “a schedule of development and commercial milestones.”
Nuro co-founder Dave Ferguson told The Verge on July 17, 2025, that the Nuro investment would be “significantly more than” the $300 million Uber was putting into Lucid, but declined to give a figure.
Nuro said in August 2025 that part of Uber’s commitment was included in its $203 million Series E round, which valued the company at $6 billion.
Permits Still Limit the Launch
Nuro said on May 8 that it had received a California Public Utilities Commission permit to carry passengers in its robotaxis with a safety driver on board.
That built on a Department of Motor Vehicles driverless testing permit received in April, Nuro said.
“They do not authorize paid rides, and the CPUC Drivered Pilot Permit does not authorize driverless passenger operations,” the company said of the two approvals.
The CPUC’s permit list still showed Nuro holding only a “Drivered Pilot” permit as of Wednesday, with no driverless pilot or deployment authority.
The DMV’s list shows Nuro approved for driverless testing of the “Lucid Gravity R3” in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.
Lucid’s Next Update
The shipment comes as Lucid works through an operating reset aimed at $1.4 billion in cash-flow improvements this year.
The company produced 2,954 vehicles and delivered 3,806 in the third quarter, as deliveries exceeded production while it cut inventory.
Deliveries fell 6.7% from 4,078 a year earlier and 3.7% from 3,953 in the second quarter.
Lucid drew another $400 million on October 6 under a delayed-draw term loan from an affiliate of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, leaving about $2.1 billion outstanding.
Nuro said on October 15 that the program “calls for a minimum of 35,000 vehicles globally across dozens of markets over the coming years,” as it named a new product chief.
Lucid shares closed at $3.27 on Tuesday, up 5.65% from Monday.
The company will report third-quarter results on November 9, with a call at 5:30 pm ET.
