Nuro just cleared a significant regulatory milestone. The California Department of Motor Vehicles has modified the startup’s driverless permit to include Lucid Gravity SUVs, meaning the company can now test these vehicles on California public roads without a human safety operator behind the wheel. On paper, this looks like a major win for the Nvidia and Uber-backed autonomous vehicle startup.
But here’s the thing: Nuro says it’s not quite ready to actually use the permit yet. The company expects to begin driverless testing later this year, according to spokesperson David Salguero, though no specific timeline was offered.
This hesitation reveals something important about the state of autonomous vehicle development in 2026. Regulatory approval and technical readiness are two very different things.
The Permit Is Just One Piece
The driverless permit is important, sure. Nuro has held a driverless license for six years, but it was originally tied to a low-speed delivery vehicle program that the company eventually abandoned when it pivoted to licensing its technology to ride-hailing companies. This new permit represents a fundamental shift in scope.
Yet it’s only one of several regulatory hurdles standing between Nuro and actual deployment. The startup still needs a driverless ride-hailing permit from the California Public Utilities Commission and a separate deployment permit from the DMV. Each of these will come with its own requirements, testing protocols, and timelines.
For now, Nuro and Uber continue testing Lucid Gravity vehicles in autonomous mode with a safety operator still on board. Last month, that testing expanded to allow Uber employees to request autonomous rides through the Uber app, which is a modest but meaningful step forward.
Uber’s Commitment Keeps Growing
What’s notable is how serious Uber is betting on this partnership. When the three-way deal between Uber, Nuro, and Lucid was announced in July 2025, Uber committed to investing $300 million in Lucid and purchasing 20,000 robotaxi-ready Gravity vehicles. That commitment has since ballooned to $500 million and a minimum of 35,000 robotaxis, with the deal now including at least 10,000 Gravity SUVs and 25,000 EVs built on Lucid’s upcoming mid-size platform.
Both vehicle types will be equipped with Nuro’s autonomous system, which runs on Nvidia’s Drive AGX Thor computer. The Lucid Gravity robotaxi is packed with high-resolution cameras, solid-state lidar sensors, and radars designed to help the self-driving system perceive and navigate the real world.
Lucid has already delivered 75 engineering vehicles to Nuro and Uber, and testing is happening across several cities throughout the United States. The EV maker disclosed this during its first-quarter earnings call, also announcing that commercial robotaxi operations are on track to begin in late 2026.
Tempered Expectations
Here’s where the nuance matters. Lucid execs were optimistic on the call, noting that development and certifications are “moving along as expected.” But the company also acknowledged that those late-2026 robotaxi operations might not be fully driverless or could be limited in scope depending on regulatory approvals.
Translation: don’t expect an immediate, nationwide fleet of completely autonomous Lucid robotaxis zipping around California next year. The regulatory path is complex, and these companies know it. The driverless permit Nuro just received is progress, but it’s not the finish line. It’s not even necessarily the beginning of the final stretch.
The Technology and Business of autonomous vehicles remain intertwined in ways that pure hype often glosses over. A company can have stellar engineering, deep pockets, and cutting-edge sensors, but regulators move at their own pace. Uber, Nuro, and Lucid have aligned themselves with each other and with the technical realities of self-driving cars. The question now is whether they can stay aligned while the regulatory machinery grinds forward.
