Uber has pushed the commercial launch of its robotaxi service with Nuro and Lucid in the San Francisco Bay Area to the first quarter of 2027, the company said Wednesday in prepared remarks published with its third-quarter results.
The revised timeline supersedes the prior intention to launch “later this year,” with the service set to run fully driverless from its first day instead of beginning with supervised trips, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said. “We expect to begin fully driverless testing with Nuro and Lucid this quarter, ahead of a commercial launch in the Bay Area in Q1 2027 that will operate fully driverless from day one,” he said. “Houston and additional cities will follow.”
Three Quarterly Reports, Three Timelines
Uber’s language on the program has shifted across three earnings reports. In first-quarter remarks on May 6, the company said employee trips had begun in the Bay Area and the program remained “on track for a public launch later this year.”
On June 17, as Uber, Nuro and Lucid named Houston as the second market, their joint release said the service would “initially launch in the San Francisco Bay Area later this year,” with Houston targeted for mid-2027. By the second-quarter remarks in August, Uber said it was “preparing for multiple U.S. launches later this year” without specifying a Bay Area date. On Wednesday, Khosrowshahi placed Nuro among the partners Uber expects to add next year, telling Citi analyst Ron Josey: “Then next year, we expect to add Nuro in California and then in Houston as well in Texas, at least early on in 2027.”
Uber did not say which company made the decision or give a reason for the delay. Chief Financial Officer Balaji Krishnamurthy confirmed the timing on X, replying to a user who asked whether the Bay Area launch was still happening this year: “In the prepared remarks,” he wrote, attaching a screenshot of the autonomous vehicle section.
Driverless From Day One Requires Permits Nuro Does Not Hold
The new plan sets a higher bar than earlier proposals. Uber said the Bay Area service will operate without safety drivers from its first day. That requires permits the program does not yet hold.
On May 8, Nuro announced that the California Public Utilities Commission had granted it a permit allowing passenger transport with a safety driver present. That permit does not authorize paid driverless rides, and the CPUC’s permit list still showed Nuro holding only a “Drivered Pilot” permit as of Tuesday. In addition, the California Department of Motor Vehicles’ list, updated October 22, shows Nuro cleared to test the driverless Lucid Gravity at up to 45 mph in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.
Vehicles and Testing Already Underway
The program dates to July 2025, when Lucid signed a production agreement under which Uber and its fleet operators agreed to buy a minimum of 20,000 Gravity Plus vehicles over six years, with production targeted for late 2026. A second agreement signed in April covers at least 25,000 Lucid Midsize Plus robotaxis, bringing Uber’s total commitment to at least 35,000 units. As of June 30, Uber had put $500 million into Lucid and held roughly 9.6% of its common stock.
During June, the companies reported that Nuro was running 24/7 autonomous on-road tests with safety operators in Houston and the Bay Area, supported by an engineering fleet of nearly 100 vehicles across California and Texas. On October 20, Lucid said another shipment of robotaxis built at its Arizona factory was on its way to the Bay Area. On Tuesday, Nuro said it had notified police in Mountain View, Palo Alto and Los Altos so they could prepare for the launch.
Uber’s Broader Driverless Expansion
The Bay Area delay sits within a wider push. Khosrowshahi said Uber is on track for roughly 700 fully driverless vehicles on its platform by year-end and expects to deploy over 2,000 by the end of 2027. Zoox is expected to launch on Uber in Las Vegas later this month, followed by Motional transitioning to fully driverless operations soon after, with further deployments from Avride in 2027 and supervised NVIDIA and Rivian deployments beginning in 2027 and 2028. Krishnamurthy said the long-run expectation is that the fleet will be financed by third-party capital rather than Uber’s balance sheet.
Unanswered Questions About the 2027 Launch
Why did Uber move the launch to 2027? Uber did not give a reason in its prepared remarks, and it did not say which of the three companies made the decision.
When will Houston get robotaxis? Houston remains targeted for mid-2027, and Khosrowshahi said Uber expects to add Nuro in Texas “at least early on in 2027.”
What permits does Nuro still need? Nuro holds a CPUC “Drivered Pilot” permit that allows passenger rides only with a safety driver on board; it does not authorize driverless paid operations. The DMV has separately approved driverless testing in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.
Under two agreements, Uber and its fleet operators committed to at least 35,000 Lucid vehicles: 20,000 Gravity Plus units with production targeted for late 2026, and 25,000 Midsize Plus units targeted for late 2028.
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