Uber commits more than $10 billion to robotaxis to avoid being circumvented by its own partners

7.5 billion to buy vehicles, 2.5 billion in stakes in Lucid, Rivian and Nuro: the platform wants 120,000 driverless cars and services in at least fifteen cities.

The breakdown announced by Uber separates two types of spending. About $7.5 billion will go to the acquisition of autonomous vehicles over the next few years; the remaining $2.5 billion is in the form of equity stakes in manufacturers and operators — Lucid, Rivian and Nuro — plus balance sheet support for fleet operations. The numerical objective is to put 120,000 driverless vehicles on the road and to open services in at least fifteen cities.

The industrial commitments are already dated. With Rivian, 10,000 vehicles are to be deployed, with an option to purchase up to 50,000 robotaxis by 2030; the first circuits are announced in San Francisco and Miami in 2028. With Lucid, the floor is set at 20,000 robotaxis, with a target of commissioning in San Francisco and Los Angeles as early as 2026. However, an industry executive points out a physical constraint that money does not compress: setting up a robotaxis depot — charging, maintenance, storage, permits, electrical connection — requires at least three years.

The defensive logic of the operation is assumed. Autonomy threatened Uber's model, since fleets operated by Waymo or Tesla can do without intermediaries; by becoming a shareholder and buyer, the platform seeks to remain the distribution channel for all suppliers. Competition, on the other hand, is moving forward: Waymo already captures a quarter of the on-demand transport market in San Francisco and operates in fifteen cities, Tesla runs its Cybercab in Austin and offers public trips in Florida and Texas, Zoox operates Las Vegas and maintains a waiting list in San Francisco. The agreements linking Waymo to Uber in Atlanta and Austin expire in 2028.