Uber Taps Rivian for Robotaxis in $1.25B Deal. Here’s What You Should Know
Uber is investing $1.25 billion in Rivian to build 10,000 robots using the Irvine, Calif.-based electric SUV.
The companies said in a March 19 announcement that the deal is “a partnership to help accelerate both companies’ autonomous vehicle initiatives.”
“Uber will invest up to $1.25 billion in Rivian until 2031, depending on the achievement of milestones of independence on certain dates, to build an autonomous, autonomous fleet of Rivian R2 robotaxis, which will be available exclusively on the Uber platform,” the companies said in the announcement.
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said in a statement that the partnership with Uber “will help accelerate our path to level 4 autonomy to create one of the safest autonomous platforms in the world.”
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a statement that his company “strongly believes in Rivian’s approach—designing the vehicle, the computing platform, and the software together, while maintaining ultimate control and maintaining production and supply in the US.”
With that in mind, the USA TODAY Cars team looked at why this deal is important to both companies and what it could mean for one of their biggest robotics rivals, Tesla.
Why Rivian and Uber Made a Robotaxi Deal?
Khosrowshahi, Uber’s CEO, said the deal makes sense for his company because “Rivian’s direct integration, combined with data from their growing consumer fleet and experience managing the complexity of the commercial fleet, gives us the confidence to set these ambitious but achievable goals.”
Scaringe, the CEO of Rivian, said he is confident in his company’s ability to scale up its production to make the thousands of autonomous vehicles Uber will need for its robotics service.
“Rivian’s growing data flywheel standard with RAP1, our state-of-the-art in-house platform, and our multi-sensor platform make us incredibly excited for Rivian’s rapid autonomous development over the next few years,” he said.
The deal is Uber’s second major private equity partnership announcement in early 2026. On March 11, Zoox and Uber Technologies Inc. announced a strategic partnership to “use Zoox’s purpose-built robotics for Uber,” an Uber investor press release said.
What Are Uber and Rivian Stock Prices After the Announcement?
Rivian stock was trading at $16.80 per share on the NASDAQ exchange on Thursday morning, March 19. That’s up from $15.53 per share at which the stock traded after the close of business on Wednesday, March 18.
Uber stock was trading at $77.30 per share on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday morning, March 19. That’s up from a close of $76.66 at the close of trading on Wednesday, March 18.
What You Should Know About Rivian’s R2
The R2 is Rivian’s upcoming electric SUV, which company officials say will be more affordable than its previous models and is important to its long-term future as a viable automaker.
The Irvine, California-based company says on its website that the R2 will seat five people and have a battery range of up to 300 miles.
The car is expected to start around $45,000 and be released in the first half of 2026.
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said in an appearance on Jan. 29 on the “On with Kara Swisher” podcast that the R2 is important to his company’s plans to grow into a mass-market electric vehicle manufacturer.
“Rivian is not only created for R1,” said Scaringe. “If the goal is to build a company that will only produce 15,000 cars a year, it will look very different as a business. But we have really invested in the business, we think and plan for Rivian to be a very big company. So for that, R2 needs to succeed in supporting the level of business development because of how much infrastructure we are building and how much we are building.”
What does the Uber-Rivian Partnership mean for Tesla’s Cybercab?
Tesla is one of Uber’s biggest rivals in the robotics space and one of Rivian’s biggest rivals in the home electric vehicle market.
Tesla is promoting its new Cybercab, which the company describes on its website as a “completely purpose-built vehicle” that will “give you a ride to your neighborhood in the future.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the Cybercab will be a big part of his company’s “complete transition to an autonomous future.”
Tesla says it plans to begin mass production of the Cybercab in April 2026. The Silicon Valley company currently operates its Robotaxis powered Model Y electric SUV in limited locations in Austin, Texas and California.
Tesla stock was trading at $383.39 per share on the NASDAQ market early Thursday, March 19. That was down from a close of $392.78 at the end of Wednesday, March 18 trading.
This article first appeared in USA TODAY: Uber taps Rivian for robotaxis in $1.25B deal. Here’s what you need to know
Reporting by Keith Laing, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
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