Uber will start self-driving Uber rides with Lucid vehicles in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area this year. Dara Khosrowshahi said that on the company’s Aug. 5 earnings call. Riders in those two California markets are the first people this rollout directly touches.
Dara Khosrowshahi and Lucid
Khosrowshahi said Uber plans to source up to 20,000 Lucid electric vehicles outfitted with self-driving technology. That points to a fleet plan built around vehicles Uber can bring into its marketplace rather than a single-city pilot. It also fits his view from last year that robotaxis could generate higher revenue than human drivers.
Uber and Waymo
Waymo robotaxis have been available in Atlanta and Austin, Texas, through the Uber app since 2025. Uber and Waymo dissolved their three-year partnership in Phoenix in May. Waymo is expected to end its partnership with Uber in Atlanta and Austin, Texas, in 2028, while Uber plans to begin deploying Rivian robotaxis then, with 10,000 ordered and an option for 40,000 more.
Waymo’s lead
Frank McCleary said Uber is “trying to protect their business” and asked, “How much fuel does Waymo want to keep putting on the fire?” He also said Waymo has “a nice strong lead in robotaxis.” The competitive picture is sharper because Uber is expanding robotaxi plans while Waymo still leads the category it helped define.
Khosrowshahi has also sketched a “a hybrid future, seamlessly integrating human drivers and autonomous vehicles into a single marketplace, giving us unmatched flexibility and efficiency.” For riders, that means the near-term change is not a full switch to driverless service everywhere. It is a phased rollout across named markets, with Lucid first and Rivian later. The open question is how soon the Lucid service will become broadly available in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area.
