Lucid Scores Big With Uber Deal--But For Uber, It's Just Another Ride

Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) just made a multi-billion dollar bet on Lucid Motors Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCID) and Wall Street is buzzing about the deal. 

The companies aim to deploy over 20,000 Lucid robotaxis onto Uber's ride-hailing platform over the next six years and is set to kick off next year in a major U.S. city. 

“A Much Bigger Deal for Lucid”

Mark Fields, the former CEO of Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F), weighed in on the high-profile arrangement and the deal's implications for all involved parties in an interview with CNBC on Thursday. 

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Lucid, which only sold about 10,000 EVs last year, stands to gain legitimacy, scale and market exposure by collaborating with a global leader like Uber, Fields said. 

"It's a much bigger deal for Lucid than it is for Uber," he said, highlighting the deal as a pivotal growth avenue that helps validate Lucid's position within the electric vehicle sector. 

Uber's Bet on Partnerships

Fields noted that the deal is part of Uber's broader strategy: "They're spreading their bets," leveraging partnerships across the autonomous vehicle landscape rather than trying to build self-driving technology on their own. 

Uber already works with players like Waymo, Volkswagen, and Baidu in different markets. The Lucid partnership is set apart by Uber's significant financial investment, a sign that it sees meaningful strategic value.

The Influence of Shared Investors

Fields pointed out a critical, but overlooked dimension to the new partnership: the influence of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), which holds major stakes in both Uber and Lucid. He said that cross-ownership "match-making" likely played a role in the deal. 

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The Economic Hurdles

A key concern voiced by Fields involved the economic logic behind the venture.

Lucid's Gravity SUV—the model expected for the project—starts at $95,000, even before considering the additional costs of lidar sensors, computing power and other self-driving hardware. 

"With $20 rides, how many do you need to make money on this?," Fields asked, questioning how Uber or Lucid could turn a profit on rides offered in such expensive vehicles. 

Industry Implications

The Uber-Lucid announcement signals a "breakout moment" for autonomous vehicles, according to Fields, with increased momentum and competition from companies like Waymo, Tesla and Amazon's Zoox. 

The former Ford CEO expects the coming years to see accelerating innovation, but cautions that business model sustainability remains an open question. 

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