Uber, in partnership with Lucid, the luxury electric vehicle manufacturer, unveiled their future self-driving vehicle in Las Vegas on Monday. The vehicle is designed to compete with the autonomous cars from Waymo, the global leader in self-driving vehicles.
This fully electric, six-seat vehicle—compared to the four-seat Jaguars used by Waymo—is a modified version of Lucid’s Gravity model. It includes a suite of sensors: cameras, radar, lidar, and ultrasonic sensors, all controlled by software from the startup Aurora, utilizing chips from the technology giant Nvidia.
This prototype, unveiled at the Fontainebleau Hotel and Casino on the eve of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, is a step in the project announced by Nvidia and Uber this fall. The project aims to deploy one hundred thousand self-driving taxis starting in 2027, in collaboration with numerous manufacturing partners.
The partners confirmed that autonomous driving tests began in the San Francisco Bay Area in December. These tests are conducted with a human safety driver inside the vehicle, in preparation for the planned commercial launch later in 2026, pending approval from California regulators.
The Vehicle’s Interior
The interior of the vehicle was designed to provide a sense of reassurance. Screens allow passengers to see the surrounding environment captured by the computer in real-time: pedestrians, traffic signals, traffic flow, as well as to request stops, and adjust music or temperature, including seat temperature.
The launch of this vehicle will mark a return to direct competition with Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet, which currently holds a near-monopoly on self-driving taxis in San Francisco following the withdrawal of Cruise at the end of 2023.
Uber
Uber is a technology company founded in 2009 that revolutionized personal transportation by introducing a ride-hailing service accessible via a smartphone app. It disrupted the traditional taxi industry by connecting passengers directly with independent drivers using their own vehicles.
Lucid
Lucid is a contemporary art museum located in Los Angeles, California, founded in 2019. It is dedicated to showcasing immersive and experiential digital art, focusing on works that explore light, space, and perception.
Las Vegas
Las Vegas is a major city in Nevada, USA, founded as a railroad town in 1905 and incorporated in 1911. It is globally renowned as a resort destination, famed for its extensive casino hotels, entertainment shows, and vibrant nightlife centered along its iconic Las Vegas Strip.
Waymo
Waymo is an American autonomous driving technology company, originally founded as the Google Self-Driving Car Project in 2009. It became a standalone subsidiary under Alphabet Inc. in 2016 and is a pioneer in developing and deploying fully self-driving vehicles for public ride-hailing services.
Jaguar
Jaguar is a British luxury car manufacturer founded in 1922 as the Swallow Sidecar Company. It became known for producing high-performance sports cars and luxury sedans, playing a significant role in automotive history with iconic models like the E-Type. The brand is now part of Jaguar Land Rover, a subsidiary of Tata Motors.
Gravity
Gravity is a fundamental physical force that attracts objects with mass toward one another, most notably governing planetary motion and giving weight to objects on Earth. While not a cultural site, its conceptual history is rooted in scientific discovery, including Isaac Newton’s law of universal gravitation in the 17th century and Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity in the early 20th century.
Aurora
Aurora is a city in the U.S. state of Colorado, founded in the 1890s during a period of western expansion and originally named Fletcher. It grew from a small farming community into a major suburban city, becoming Colorado’s third most populous city after its significant development in the late 20th century.
Nvidia
Nvidia is an American technology company founded in 1993, renowned for designing graphics processing units (GPUs) for gaming and professional markets. Its technology has become foundational for modern artificial intelligence and high-performance computing, evolving from a graphics card manufacturer into a leading force in the AI industry.
Fontainebleau Hotel and Casino
The Fontainebleau Hotel and Casino is a historic luxury resort on Miami Beach, Florida, which first opened in 1954. It became an iconic symbol of mid-century modern architecture and glamour, famously frequented by celebrities like Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack. After a major expansion and renovation in 2008, it continues to operate as a premier destination featuring a casino, numerous restaurants, and event spaces.
Consumer Electronics Show
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is a major annual trade show in Las Vegas, first held in 1967, where companies from around the world debut new consumer technology products. It has grown from a niche event into a global platform that has historically introduced groundbreaking innovations like the VCR, DVD, and HDTV to the industry and public.
Xpeng X9
The Xpeng X9 is a modern electric multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) produced by the Chinese automotive company Xpeng, which was founded in 2014. It was officially unveiled in late 2023 as the brand’s first minivan model, featuring advanced technologies like rear-wheel steering and representing Xpeng’s expansion into the family-oriented EV market segment.
Land Rover
Land Rover is a British automotive brand founded in 1948, originally known for its rugged, all-terrain vehicles designed for agricultural and military use. It has since evolved into a symbol of adventure and luxury, with its iconic models like the Defender becoming deeply embedded in global exploration and culture.
Defender Sport
“Defender Sport” is a prominent sports complex in Buenos Aires, Argentina, historically associated with the Club Atlético Defensores de Belgrano. It serves as the main stadium and training grounds for the club, which was founded in 1906 and has a long history in Argentine football. The venue is a central hub for local sports and community events.
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area is a major metropolitan region in Northern California, historically inhabited by the Ohlone people before Spanish colonization in the 18th century. Its modern identity was fundamentally shaped by the 1849 Gold Rush, which spurred rapid growth, and later by its role as the global center of the technology industry, anchored by Silicon Valley.
California
California is a U.S. state on the Pacific Coast, originally inhabited by numerous Native American tribes before becoming a Spanish colony in the 16th century. It was part of Mexico following its independence from Spain, then was ceded to the United States in 1848 after the Mexican-American War, with its modern development heavily accelerated by the 1849 Gold Rush.
Alphabet
The Alphabet, as a concept, refers to a standardized set of letters or characters representing the phonemes of a language. Its history traces back to the Proto-Sinaitic script around 1850 BCE, evolving into the Phoenician alphabet, which was later adapted by the Greeks and Romans to form the basis of many modern writing systems. This innovation revolutionized communication by moving from pictorial symbols to a more efficient phonetic representation.
San Francisco
San Francisco is a major city in Northern California, founded as a Spanish mission and presidio in 1776. It grew rapidly during the 1849 Gold Rush and was famously rebuilt after the devastating 1906 earthquake, evolving into a prominent center for finance, technology, and counterculture movements.
Cruise
“Cruise” is not a specific place or cultural site, but a general term for a voyage on a ship for pleasure. Historically, modern leisure cruising began in the late 19th century with companies like P&O offering passenger voyages, and it expanded dramatically in the mid-20th century with the rise of dedicated cruise ships designed for vacation travel. Today, it is a major global tourism industry centered around visiting multiple destinations from a single floating resort.
