Nuro cleared to test Lucid robotaxis

Robotaxi regulation is where flashy demos turn into something real. That is the stakes here. Nuro just cleared an important California hurdle that lets it test Lucid Gravity SUVs without a human safety driver on public roads. But the catch is that this is still a testing permit, not permission to launch a paid public service. (techcrunch.com) ### What changed this week? California’s DMV modified Nuro’s existing driverless autonomous-vehicle permit to include Lucid Gravity vehicles. That matters because Nuro’s old permit covered its low-speed delivery vehicle program, not the larger passenger EVs that Uber plans to use for robotaxi rides. (techcrunch.com) ### Why is Lucid in this at all? Lucid is supplying the vehicle platform — basically the car underneath the autonomy stack. The Gravity is a big premium electric SUV, and the robotaxi version shown at CES in January uses cameras, lidar, radar, and a roof-mount(techcrunch.com) rider network. (investor.uber.com) ### What is Nuro actually allowed to do? Nuro can test on California public roads without a human behind the wheel, but only within the terms of the DMV permit. That is different from c(investor.uber.com) (techcrunch.com) ### So are people riding in these already? In a limited way, yes — but not in the fully driverless form this permit allows. The companies said in January that on-road testing had already begun in December 2025 with supervised vehicles in the Bay Area. By April(techcrunch.com)at. (investor.uber.com) ### Why does Uber care so much? Uber wants robotaxis without having to build the full stack itself. Instead of designing the vehicle, the autonomy software, and the ride network under o(investor.uber.com) also means every regulatory and technical dependency has to line up. (lucidmotors.com) ### How big is the planned fleet? Bigger than the original announcement. When the deal was unveiled in July 2025, Uber said it would invest $300 million in Lucid and planned to buy 20,000 robotaxi-ready Gravity vehicles over six years. That has since expanded to $500 million and at least 35,000 autonomous EVs, incl(lucidmotors.com)atform. (lucidmotors.com) ### What still has to happen before launch? Nuro has to actually begin driverless road testing, show the system can operate safely, and secure the remaining California approvals tied to deployment and driverless ride-hailing. So this permit is a door opening, not the service itself arriving. The companies are still(lucidmotors.com)ly named as the first market. (techcrunch.com) ### Bottom line? This is the moment the Lucid-Uber-Nuro plan moved from supervised testing toward true driverless validation. That is a real milestone. But the bigger story is not “robotaxis are here.” It is that Uber is trying to prove a partnership-based robotaxi model can scale before the full-stack operators lock up the market. (techcrunch.com)