Latest news with #Gravity
Business Insider
a day ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Lucid Stock (LCID): Morgan Stanley Sees ‘Strategic Opportunities' in Uber Deal Ahead of Q2 Results
Luxury electric vehicle (EV) maker Lucid Group (LCID) will report its Q2 results on August 6. The stock gained over 36% on Thursday after the company announced a new partnership with Uber (UBER) and autonomous tech startup Nuro. The three companies plan to deploy 20,000 Lucid Gravity SUVs, equipped with Nuro's self-driving technology, on Uber's network over the next six years. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Make smarter investment decisions with TipRanks' Smart Investor Picks, delivered to your inbox every week. Following the news, Top Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas reiterated a Hold rating on Lucid with a $3.00 price target. Four-star analyst Adam Jonas believes the Uber-Nuro deal shows that Lucid is expanding its focus beyond EVs and starting to pursue 'AI-enabled autonomy' through strategic partnerships. Analyst Sees Long-Term Value in the Uber Deal Jonas highlighted Lucid's upcoming Gravity SUV as a key part of the company's next growth phase. He believes the deal shows Lucid's potential to play a bigger role in the AI and self-driving space. As part of the deal, Uber will invest $300 million in Lucid. While the amount is relatively small compared to Lucid's ongoing cash needs, Jonas believes it could provide short-term support as Lucid works to ramp up Gravity production. Although Morgan Stanley remains cautious on the stock, the firm views the deal as an important step that could lead to more partnerships in AI, EV technology, and global markets, helping Lucid strengthen its position in the fast-growing autonomous driving space. What's Ahead for Lucid Stock? Looking ahead into the Q2 earnings season, Wall Street forecasts a Q2 2025 loss of $0.22 per share, an improvement from the $0.34 per share loss in the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, revenues are expected to rise by 41% from the same quarter last year, reaching $283.2 million, according to data from the TipRanks Forecast page. Investors will be watching closely for updates on Gravity production, spending levels, and any early signs of revenue growth tied to these new partnerships. Is LCID Stock a Buy? The stock of Lucid Group has a consensus Hold rating among ten Wall Street analysts. That rating is currently based on one Buy, eight Hold, and one Sell recommendations issued in the past three months. The average LCID price target of $2.70 implies 13.46% downside from current levels.
Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Automotive
- Los Angeles Times
Uber partnering with Lucid, Nuro to launch robotaxis in 2026
Uber Technologies Inc. is teaming up with electric vehicle maker Lucid Group Inc. and self-driving tech startup Nuro to launch a robotaxi fleet. Uber announced Thursday it or its third-party partners will purchase and operate Lucid Gravity SUVs outfitted with Nuro Driver technology on its ride-sharing network. The company aims to launch the first vehicle later in 2026 in an unidentified major US city, with plans to deploy at least 20,000 of the robotaxis over six years. The ride-sharing company also announced it's making separate multi-hundred-million dollar investments in both Lucid and Nuro. That funding will include $300 million for Lucid that will be used in part to upgrade to its assembly line to integrate Nuro hardware into the Gravity vehicles, according to the EV company. Separately, Lucid also said it plans a 1-for-10 reverse stock split, subject to shareholder approval. The Lucid-Nuro deal adds to more than a dozen partnerships that Uber has announced with autonomous vehicle tech developers and carmakers, including Waymo and Volkswagen Group of America, as it aims to be the go-to commercial app for robotaxis. Earlier this week, Uber announced a partnership with Chinese AV maker Baidu to deploy robotaxis in several non-US markets. Currently autonomous rides are available through the Uber app in Phoenix, Austin, Atlanta and Abu Dhabi. The substantial investments by Uber further underscore its strategy shift away from developing autonomous technology in-house, as it did under co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick, in favor of partnering with and investing in firms that specialize in AV. Uber has monetized some of its equity stakes in firms such as autonomous freight company Aurora Innovation Inc. to fund future investments in the driverless ecosystem, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has said. Competition is intensifying in the still-nascent robotaxi market, with EV giant Tesla Inc. rolling out its long-promised service in Austin last month and CEO Elon Musk pledging to expand to other cities. Uber first partnered with Nuro in 2022 on food delivery robots. The following year Nuro pivoted from building and scaling custom AVs to focusing on developing autonomous software. The Uber partnership also adds a notable customer for Lucid, one of the few pure play EV makers in the US, as it works to popularize Gravity, its second vehicle model. The company has been working to amp up production and deliveries, and has estimated it will produce 20,000 vehicles in 2025, more than double the year before. Prototype robotaxis developed by Lucid and Nuro are already in operation on Nuro's Las Vegas closed-circuit testing grounds. Lucid interim CEO Marc Winterhoff said Uber chose its SUV because the company can integrate the necessary hardware at its factory. Nuro's software will be added once Uber receives the vehicles. Winterhoff had said in a call with investors in May that the company was in advanced discussions with partners about using Gravity for autonomous vehicle purposes. 'This is a stepping stone on our journey to expand our tech leadership from electric vehicles and licensing into partnerships in other areas,' Winterhoff told Bloomberg this week. 'A lot can happen in six years. I really see this as the first starting point.' Lucid also has been working on advanced driver systems and announced earlier this year that it had partnered with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia. Winterhoff said the company still plans to work on its own autonomous and driver assistance technology. This week Lucid separately announced it's adding hands-free drive and lane change assist to its software suite. Carlson and Lung write for Bloomberg.
Mint
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Mint
Uber puts robotaxi plan in top gear, joins hands with Lucid and Nuro; first vehicle to hit road in 2026. Details here
Uber Technologies on Thursday announced that it has tied up with electric vehicle maker Lucid Group and self-driving tech startup Nuro to launch robotaxis in 2026. The ride-sharing company or its third-party partners will buy and operate Lucid Gravity SUVs outfitted with Nuro Driver technology on its network. It aims to launch its first robotaxi in 2026 and plans to deploy at least 20,000 of the vehicles over the next six years. Uber also announced that it is making separate multi-hundred-million-dollar investments in both Lucid and Nuro. The funding will include $300 million for Lucid that will be used in part to upgrade its assembly line to integrate Nuro hardware into the Gravity vehicles. After the announcement, Lucid shares rallied 34 per cent, while Uber stock was little changed. Earlier this week, Uber had announced a tie-up with Chinese AV maker Baidu to deploy robotaxis in several non-US markets. Currently, autonomous rides are available through the Uber app in Phoenix, Austin, Atlanta and Abu Dhabi. Prototype robotaxis developed by Lucid and Nuro are already in operation on Nuro's Las Vegas closed-circuit testing grounds, reported Bloomberg. Marc Winterhoff, Lucid's interim CEO, said Uber chose its SUV because the company can integrate the necessary hardware at its factory. Nuro's software will be added once Uber receives the vehicles. 'This is a stepping stone on our journey to expand our tech leadership from electric vehicles and licensing into partnerships in other areas,' Winterhoff told Bloomberg this week. 'A lot can happen in six years. I really see this as the first starting point,' he added. Separately, Lucid said it is planning a 1-for-10 reverse stock split, subject to shareholder approval. The emerging autonomous taxi market is gaining momentum, with Google subsidiary Waymo currently holding the strongest position in the United States. Electric vehicle maker Tesla unveiled its first robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, in late June, though with limited scope and a very small fleet.
The Verge
3 days ago
- Automotive
- The Verge
Uber to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Lucid and Nuro in massive robotaxi deal
Uber plans to make 'multi-hundred-million dollar investments' in both Nuro and Lucid as part of a massive new robotaxi deal that was just announced. The three companies are linking up to deploy '20,000 or more' robotaxis in the US over the next six years. The vehicles will be Lucid's new Gravity SUV, equipped with autonomous technology developed by Nuro, and available exclusively on Uber's app. The fleet will be owned by Uber or a third-party fleet management partner and the first vehicles will launch in as-yet-to-be-determined US city in 2026. 'This is a very, very big deal,' Dave Ferguson, co-founder and president of Nuro, said in an interview. 'In terms of the scale and the hard commitments and the meat behind it, it is by far the biggest partnership deal that Uber has announced or done.' 'This is a very, very big deal.' Uber is investing $300 million in Lucid, a spokesperson for the automaker, Nick Twork, confirmed. The investment in Nuro will be 'significantly more than that,' Ferguson said, though he declined to share an exact figure. As part of the deal, Uber will take a seat on Nuro's board of directors. Uber's decision to pour hundreds of millions of dollars in both companies underscores its desire to become a clearinghouse for both electric and autonomous vehicles of all stripes. The ridehail company has said it wants to use its size and scale to aid in the proliferation of autonomous vehicles across the world. It has struck over a dozen deals over the past year with a variety of robotaxi and delivery robot companies, including Waymo. In choosing the sumptuously designed Gravity as its robotaxi platform, Uber will likely price this particular service in the upper tier like Uber Black. Lucid makes two luxury EVs, the Lucid Air sedan which starts at $69,900, and the Gravity SUV which starts at $79,900. In the current shaky EV market, Lucid is a niche player, delivering just 3,309 vehicles in the second quarter of 2025. The company is majority-owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, and it operates an assembly plant in the oil-rich nation. This is Nuro's first major licensing deal after pivoting away from designing and building its own self-driving delivery vehicles. The California-based company said last year that licensing its autonomous tech would be its main focus moving forward. Nuro's current fleet of vehicles, which operates in California and Texas, has traveled over 1 million miles autonomously without any major safety incidents. Uber's investment comes at a crucial time for Nuro and Lucid, both of which have struggled with layoffs and other financial difficulties in recent years. Donald Trump's tariffs, as well as his administration's move to eliminate Biden-era EV incentives, have put enormous pressure on the auto industry. And self-driving cars have taken longer and proven more costly to develop than initially promised. But even as most AV investments have dried up, Nuro continues to find financial support. The company is currently valued at $6 billion after raising $106 million in its latest funding round last April. Lucid, which is publicly traded, has a market cap of approximately $7 billion. Uber's investment comes at a crucial time for Nuro and Lucid. Nuro will design the Level 4 autonomous technology to power the robotaxis. Lucid's workers will install the various sensors and hardware on the Gravity assembly line, after which it'll be updated with Nuro's software and commissioned by Uber. Nuro will also develop a safety case 'across dozens of categories' using simulation, closed-course testing, and supervised on-road testing. A prototype autonomous Gravity is currently being tested at Nuro's Las Vegas proving grounds, which Ferguson said took seven weeks to develop. 'That is a real testament to the quality of the engineering on the Lucid side,' he said. 'They designed these platforms to be L3 capable because they were intending on having that as a future product for their customers. And so, they were really nice to integrate all of our sensing compute onto and to turn into self-driving vehicles.' (L3, or Level 3 automation means the vehicle can drive itself in most situations, but still requires human supervision. Level 4 vehicles can driver fully autonomously in certain environments without human supervision. Lucid just introduced a hands-free driving system for highways.) In many ways, the size of this deal — 'a minimum' of 20,000 vehicles, but expected to be 'much, much more,' Ferguson said — recalls some of the early promises from autonomous vehicle developers about tens of thousands of vehicles on the road in just a few short years. Those early assumptions turned out to be way off, and most companies are still struggling to deliver even just a few self-driving cars. Today, Waymo is operating less than 2,000 vehicles in a handful of markets as part of a commercial robotaxi service. Tesla has a few dozen robotaxis in a small part of Austin, Texas. The rest are still in beta and still not open to the public — including the self-driving trucks, which have had their own problems. Ferguson said that's all about to change. Nuro has been operating driverless vehicles for several years now, albeit at low speeds and while avoiding highways. But he says the time is right to move on to the next level, and with Uber and Lucid in its corner, he's confident they'll reach these milestones. 'It's really just a function of, at what level is the autonomy at and how many markets can it sustain,' Ferguson said. 'Within those markets, these are big, big numbers and opportunities. And the vehicles will follow.
Axios
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Axios
Uber to buy at least 20,000 luxury robotaxis from Lucid
Uber is adding Lucid electric vehicles equipped with Nuro's self-driving technology to its growing robotaxi network, and is buying a stake in both companies. Why it matters: The deal is important to all three partners. For the first time, Uber has made a commitment to buy at least 20,000 robotaxis from a vehicle manufacturer. Lucid gets a welcome $300 million investment from Uber and a guaranteed customer for the next six years. It is the first technology licensing partnership for Nuro, an AV pioneer that recently pivoted away from its original delivery robots. It, too, will receive a "multi-hundred-million dollar" investment from Uber. The big picture: Uber says it is building an electric, shared, and autonomous future and is already working with 18 AV partners. In May, Uber said it has grown to an annualized rate of 1.5 million autonomous rides or delivery trips. Its autonomous ride-hailing services include partnerships with Waymo in Phoenix, Austin, and Atlanta. It also has robotaxis in partnership with WeRide in the Middle East. Uber has autonomous delivery programs in 11 cities with six partners, including Avride, Cartken, CoCo, Nuro, Serve and Waymo. Uber Freight is also working with autonomous providers to deploy self-driving commercial trucks. Driving the news: The deal envisions Lucid's electric Gravity as the heart of a new premium global robotaxi program created exclusively for the Uber ride-hailing platform. Uber aims to deploy 20,000 or more Lucid vehicles equipped with the Nuro Driver over six years. The vehicles will be owned and operated by Uber or its third-party fleet partners, such as Alto or Avomo. The first Lucid-Nuro robotaxi prototype is already operating autonomously on a closed circuit at Nuro's Las Vegas proving grounds. Lucid Gravity, with a 450-mile driving range, means less frequent downtime for charging, which means lower costs and higher utilization. The necessary hardware will be integrated into the Lucid Gravity on Lucid's assembly line and will subsequently receive Nuro's software when the vehicle is commissioned by Uber. Nuro is responsible for validating the safety of the vehicles, the companies said.
