Will Uber's $300M Bet on Gravity Accelerate Lucid's Growth?

Lucid Group, Inc. LCID is actively pursuing partnerships that go beyond selling or licensing its leading EV technology. On July 17, the company announced a major collaboration with Uber Technologies, Inc. UBER and Nuro to develop a next-generation premium robotaxi for Uber’s ride-hailing platform. The project combines Lucid Gravity’s advanced software-defined vehicle architecture, Nuro’s proven Level 4 autonomous driving system, and Uber’s global network and fleet management to create a fully integrated service designed for comfort, safety and scalability.

Lucid’s high-efficiency EV technology, which features an AV-capable sensor suite, redundant steering and braking and compact, high-power-density motors, aims to maximize uptime and lower per-mile operating costs. These factors are critical for robotaxi success. Its secure, software-defined architecture also supports third-party autonomy stacks.

Per the deal, Uber will invest $300 million in Lucid, which is subject to regulatory approval, and deploy at least 20,000 Lucid Gravity vehicles with Nuro autonomy over six years in multiple global markets, starting late next year. While this marks Lucid’s entry into the multitrillion-dollar robotaxi market, the company continues developing its own ADAS and autonomous driving capabilities, including a recently released hands-free driving update and ongoing AI training through a partnership with the University of Science and Technology.

Lucid plans to monetize its technology via licensing and strategic alliances. The Uber deal reinforces market confidence in Lucid’s advanced platform, and the automaker is in ongoing talks with additional partners. LCID carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present. 

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Other Automakers Pursuing Similar Partnerships

Tesla TSLA struck a deal with Chinese Internet giant Baidu in April to use its mapping license for data collection on the country’s public roads. This agreement removes the last regulatory barrier for Tesla to offer its Full Self Driving (FSD) system in China. With the license in place, Tesla can legally operate FSD on Chinese roads and collect environmental data from its fleet, including details on road layouts, traffic signs and surrounding buildings.

In September 2024, Waymo, Alphabet's GOOGL self-driving car project, and Uber broadened their collaboration to bring GOOGL’s Waymo One service to Austin and Atlanta exclusively through the Uber app. The rollout remains limited for now, Uber plans to scale to hundreds of vehicles in Atlanta in the coming quarters, while in Austin, GOOGL Waymo’s coverage via Uber spans around 90 square miles.

Lucid’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates  

LCID has underperformed the Zacks Automotive - Domestic industry year to date. LCID shares have lost 22.5% compared with the industry’s decline of 13.8%.

YTD Price Performance

From a valuation perspective, Lucid appears overvalued. Going by its price/sales ratio, the company is trading at a forward sales multiple of 3.10, higher than its industry’s 2.74.

EPS Estimates Revision

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 EPS has moved down 4 cents in the past seven days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 EPS has moved down a penny in the past 30 days. 

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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