Lucid jumps on the ‘privately owned’ autonomous vehicle bandwagon

Lucid says it volition yet merchantability “privately owned” autonomous vehicles with the assistance of Nvidia’s artificial quality technology. The institution is the latest to state its volition to merchantability Level 4 autonomous vehicles to its customers, contempt a scope of theoretical and logistical challenges lasting successful the way.

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

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

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

Whether it really works retired that mode remains to beryllium seen. Waymo, the wide person successful the robotaxi space, lone 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 the institution selling them.

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

Lucid is besides readying connected selling thousands of its vehicles to Uber to retrofit into robotaxis, with the archetypal work expected to motorboat successful 2026.