New York, Jan 5, 2026, 19:19 EST — After-hours
- Uber and partners Lucid and Nuro unveiled a “production-intent” robotaxi at CES, targeting a San Francisco Bay Area launch later this year. (https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/lucid-nuro-uber-debut-robotaxi-ahead-launch-this-year-2026-01-05/)
- Shares closed down 2.6% as investors weighed intensifying driverless-car competition and a new Sell call from Melius Research. (https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/uber-stock-falls-after-melius-downgrade-to-sell-4429417)
Uber Technologies, Inc. said it and partners Lucid and Nuro unveiled a “production-intent” robotaxi at CES on Monday, a step toward offering driverless rides on Uber’s platform later this year. (https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/lucid-nuro-uber-debut-robotaxi-ahead-launch-this-year-2026-01-05/)
Uber stock closed down 2.56% at $80.74, after earlier touching an intraday low of $79.65. The drop left the shares about 21% below their 52-week high hit in September, according to MarketWatch data. (https://www.marketwatch.com/data-news/uber-technologies-inc-stock-underperforms-monday-when-compared-to-competitors-3177a63e-fae7cd0c20b7)
Why it matters now: robotaxis are moving from prototypes into commercial pilots, and Uber’s long-term economics hinge on where it fits in that stack. Uber sold its self-driving unit to Aurora Innovation in 2020 and has since positioned itself as a platform partner, seeking to put third-party robotaxis on its app rather than owning the technology. (https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/lucid-nuro-uber-debut-robotaxi-ahead-launch-this-year-2026-01-05/)
That strategy makes Uber a “demand aggregator” — a marketplace that matches riders to vehicles — but it also raises a new question for investors: how much of each fare Uber can keep when the driver is software. A company’s “take rate” is its cut of a transaction, and analysts say it could compress if autonomous-technology owners gain leverage. (https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/uber-stock-falls-after-melius-downgrade-to-sell-4429417)
Melius Research downgraded Uber to Sell from Hold and set a $73 price target, flagging tougher competition in autonomous vehicles (AVs), a common industry shorthand for driverless-car systems. “Uber has the most risk from increased competition,” analyst Conor Cunningham wrote. (https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/uber-stock-falls-after-melius-downgrade-to-sell-4429417)
The CES robotaxi, based on Lucid’s Gravity electric SUV, uses Nuro’s Level 4 autonomous system — meaning it can operate without human intervention in defined conditions — and runs on Nvidia’s Drive computing platform, the companies said. They said on-road testing began in December under supervision of safety operators, ahead of a planned San Francisco Bay Area launch later this year. (https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/lucid-nuro-uber-debut-robotaxi-ahead-launch-this-year-2026-01-05/)
Uber’s slide came even as broader U.S. indexes rose on Monday, while ride-hailing peer Lyft also fell, underscoring how tightly the market is linking valuations to robotaxi timelines. Trading volume in Uber topped its recent average, MarketWatch reported. (https://www.marketwatch.com/data-news/uber-technologies-inc-stock-underperforms-monday-when-compared-to-competitors-3177a63e-fae7cd0c20b7)
On the chart, Uber ended the day below its 20-day and 50-day moving averages, widely watched trend gauges, according to Barchart data. Those levels sit near $83.11 and $88.07, respectively. 1
But the setup cuts both ways. If validation and regulatory clearances proceed smoothly — and if Uber can secure partnerships that keep it central to dispatch and payments — robotaxis could eventually lower reliance on human drivers and improve service consistency, even as Alphabet’s Waymo and Tesla press their own strategies. (https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/lucid-nuro-uber-debut-robotaxi-ahead-launch-this-year-2026-01-05/)
Next up, investors will look to macro signals that can swing high-multiple growth stocks, including U.S. labor-market and services-sector data due later this week, according to the New York Fed’s economic calendar. The more direct catalyst is Uber’s next quarterly report, expected on Feb. 4, according to Yahoo Finance’s earnings calendar, when traders will parse bookings growth, margin outlook and updates on autonomous partnerships. 2 3
