Nuro has been granted a permit to begin driverless testing of Lucid Gravity SUVs equipped with its autonomous tech on California public roads. These vehicles are set to be used in Uber’s premium robotaxi service, marking an exciting step forward in the realm of self-driving cars.

However, Nuro is not ready to start without a human safety operator. The company expects to begin driverless testing later this year, but regulatory hurdles remain before full-scale operations can commence.

The deal with Uber includes a substantial investment and a commitment to purchase 35,000 robotaxis using Lucid’s Gravity platform, equipped with Nuro’s autonomous vehicle system powered by Nvidia's Drive AGX Thor computer. This partnership is part of a broader push towards fully autonomous transportation services.

Lucid has delivered 75 engineering vehicles and testing is ongoing in several US cities. The company aims to begin commercial robotaxi operations late next year, though this may depend on regulatory approvals.