Lucid Jumps On The ‘privately Owned’ Autonomous Vehicle Bandwagon

Lucid says it will yet waste “privately owned” autonomous vehicles pinch nan thief of Nvidia’s artificial intelligence technology. The institution is nan latest to state its volition to waste Level 4 autonomous vehicles to its customers, contempt a scope of theoretical and logistical challenges opinionated successful nan way.

Lucid’s autonomous vehicles — which do not beryllium astatine nan infinitesimal — will beryllium powered by Nvidia’s Drive AV platform, which the chipmaker has described arsenic a “modular, elastic approach” that “empowers” automakers to return arsenic overmuch arsenic they need. Nvidia’s strategy collects and consolidates information from aggregate sensors, and improves continuously done over-the-air package updates.

Lucid is taking a page from Tesla successful positioning its existent driver assistance system, DreamDrive Pro, arsenic a gateway to Level 4 autonomous driving. The automaker presently makes 2 models, nan Air sedan and nan Gravity SUV, pinch a third, midsized SUV is coming successful 2026. The unnamed midsized EV will travel pinch a scope of sensors, including cameras, lidar, and radar, that will powerfulness a “the first existent eyes-off, hands-off, and mind-off (L4) user owned autonomous vehicle.” The encephalon of nan conveyance will beryllium comprised of 2 Nvidia Drive AGX Thor computers, moving connected nan chipmaker’s DriveOS software.

The automaker presently makes 2 models, nan Air sedan and nan Gravity SUV, pinch a third, midsized SUV is coming successful 2026.

Personally owned autonomous vehicles are progressively a captivating situation for galore companies. Early on, galore experts dismissed nan idea, arguing that nan exertion to powerfulness afloat autonomous driving was excessively costly for backstage sales. Instead, fleet-owned robotaxis were nan safer bet, helping amortize nan costs of each nan sensors and high-powered computing powerfulness needed to alteration self-driving cars. But now nan costs for galore of that equipment, including lidar, is coming down, resurfacing nan thought that autonomous vehicles tin beryllium inexpensive capable to waste to regular people.

Whether it really useful retired that measurement remains to beryllium seen. Waymo, nan clear leader successful nan robotaxi space, only operates successful a fistful of markets and is expected to beryllium unprofitable for rather a while. Personally owned autonomous vehicles could go a reality, but possibly astatine a immense nonaccomplishment to nan institution trading them.

The announcement is nan latest effort by an automaker to re-position its merchandise lineup successful nan aftermath of nan expiration of nan $7,500 EV taxation credit. Without nan taxation credit, EV income are expected to driblet dramatically. And automakers are trying to person investors that they are diversified capable to withstand nan slowdown. General Motors rolled retired a raft of announcements past week astir partially autonomous vehicles and location energy. And now Lucid, which makes luxury and capacity EVs, is doing nan same.

Lucid is besides readying connected selling thousands of its vehicles to Uber to retrofit into robotaxis, pinch nan first work expected to motorboat successful 2026.