Uber, in partnership with the autonomous vehicle company Motional, which is backed by Hyundai, officially launched a commercial self-driving taxi service in Las Vegas on Friday. This marks the latest in a series of similar collaborations for the ride-hailing platform as Uber intensifies its focus on autonomous taxi strategy.
Uber has established partnerships with several leading companies in the sector, including Baidu, Amazon's Zoox, Nissan, and the UK-based startup Wayve. The company stated that, amid industry-wide competition to commercialize autonomous mobility on a large scale, it plans to invest over $100 million in building charging stations for self-driving vehicles.
According to Uber, the collaboration with Motional will allow users in the Las Vegas area to hail autonomous electric vehicles through its app free of charge, with no additional fees. The service covers pick-up and drop-off zones along the Las Vegas Strip, including resorts such as Wynn Encore, Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino, downtown Las Vegas, and Town Square near the airport.
Users requesting UberX, Uber Electric, Uber Comfort, or Uber Comfort Electric may be matched with Motional's IONIQ 5 autonomous taxis, though they retain the option to switch to a conventional vehicle if preferred.
Uber highlighted that Motional's IONIQ 5 is among the first vehicle models certified under U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) to feature SAE Level 4 autonomous driving capabilities. Initially, the vehicles will be equipped with human safety drivers, with fully driverless service expected to launch by the end of 2026.
Earlier this week, Uber signed a multi-year agreement with Amazon's self-driving unit Zoox to integrate its autonomous taxis into the Uber platform. A limited version of the service is already available in Las Vegas, and a pilot passenger program has also begun in San Francisco.
On Thursday, Uber, Nissan, and Wayve announced a partnership aimed at launching an autonomous taxi pilot in Tokyo by the end of 2026, marking Uber's first self-driving collaboration in Japan.
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