New York, Jan 6, 2026, 12:56 EST — Regular session
- Uber shares rose in Tuesday trading after unveiling a production-intent robotaxi with Lucid and Nuro at CES
- The partners said testing began in December ahead of a planned Bay Area launch later this year
- The move follows a fresh “sell” call that flagged rising robotaxi competition in 2026
Uber Technologies’ shares rose about 5% to $84.93 in midday trading on Tuesday after it and partners Lucid Group and Nuro unveiled a production-intent robotaxi at the CES tech show in Las Vegas. The vehicle uses Nuro’s Level 4 system — meaning it can drive itself in limited areas without a human — and runs on Nvidia’s DRIVE AGX Thor computer, the companies said. Uber, which sold its self-driving unit to Aurora Innovation in 2020, said testing began in December ahead of a planned launch in the San Francisco Bay Area later this year, as Alphabet’s Waymo and Tesla expand their own robotaxi efforts. 1
The announcement is the latest sign that autonomous rides are shifting from pilot programs to commercial rollouts in big U.S. cities. For Uber, the prize is volume on its app, but investors are also weighing what a driverless future means for its take rate, the share of each fare the company keeps.
Uber shares slid on Monday after Melius Research downgraded the stock to “sell” and cut its price target to $73, arguing that competition in autonomous vehicles will heat up this year. “The world is moving quick and AV competition is set to intensify in 2026,” analysts Conor Cunningham and Patrick Coleman wrote. 2
Uber said the robotaxi will feature an Uber-designed in-cabin experience, including an in-vehicle visualization that shows what the vehicle sees and its planned path in real time. “Uber is proud to partner with Lucid and Nuro to bring a state-of-the-art robotaxi to market later this year,” said Sarfraz Maredia, Uber’s global head of autonomous mobility and delivery. The company said the program combines on-road, closed-course and simulation testing, with production expected to start at Lucid’s Arizona factory pending final validation. 3
Uber closed down 2.6% on Monday at $80.74, leaving the stock about 21% below its 52-week high of $101.99 set on Sept. 22, according to MarketWatch data. Tuesday’s gain put the shares back above $84, but traders have kept a tight focus on autonomy headlines after a volatile start to the year. 4
Still, robotaxis carry long lead times and heavy regulatory and safety hurdles, and any high-profile incident could slow deployments. The economics are also untested: Uber may have to share more revenue with vehicle and software partners than it does with human drivers, muting the upside for margins.
Traders will look for more detail on rollout timing and commercial terms as CES continues this week and for clues on how quickly partnerships can translate into bookings growth. Uber has not announced a date for its next earnings report, but Wall Street Horizon forecasts results on Feb. 4, before the bell. 5
