Rideshare giant Uber and potential "Tesla killer" Lucid have upended the still-developing yet highly competitive robotaxi industry with the surprise announcement of an autonomous-vehicle partnership, Yahoo Finance reported. 

Under the landscape-altering deal, Uber said it aimed to deploy 20,000 Lucid electric SUVs as self-driving taxis over the next six years. The vehicles will feature autonomous-vehicle technology from the company Nuro, the report stated. 

The companies said they planned to create a "next-generation premium global robotaxi program," available exclusively via Uber's platform, according to Yahoo. Lucid, one of the only other major fully American EV-only carmakers with Tesla and Rivian, saw its stock soar by about 45% at one point before settling at 36.24% over the previous day. 

The announced collaboration presented a direct challenge to the robotaxi efforts of Alphabet-owned Waymo and EV-maker Tesla, both of which already are accepting rides from paying customers in certain locales.

Waymo, by far the market leader under the same corporate umbrella as Google, has been operating a fleet of 1,500 robotaxis across multiple U.S. cities, offering more than 250,000 rides per week, according to a May announcement.

Tesla only recently launched its first robotaxi pilot program in limited parts of Austin, Texas. The program has yielded mixed results.

People understandably have mixed feelings about robotaxis and the many implications of the autonomous revolution. 

A study by the Center for Global Policy Solutions estimated that autonomous vehicles could take away as many as four million jobs, not only among taxi and rideshare drivers but also long-haul truck drivers, last-mile delivery drivers, and more.

With these impacts in mind, one benefit of the announced deal among Uber, Lucid, and Nuro is that it continues the trend of all robotaxis to date being electric vehicles.

Unlike vehicles running on internal combustion engines, EVs don't pump harmful particulate matter or planet-warming pollution into the air, and a recent study revealed that they also contribute less brake dust pollution, which analysts said more than offsets their higher rate of tire wear from the weight of batteries. 

Would you be more likely to use a rideshare service that offers EV rides? Absolutely 👍 Only if it wasn't more expensive 💰 Only if the wait times weren't longer ⌚ Not interested 🚫 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

This makes the air overall healthier to breathe, especially in cities, while helping to curb rising global temperatures from heat-retaining carbon in the atmosphere.

This is not to say that EVs are environmentally neutral. When EVs charge off the grid, they are only as clean as the electricity they use. Whether that electricity was generated from renewables like wind or solar or from burning a dirty fuel like coal makes a big difference.

Additionally, meeting the world's growing demand for EVs requires extracting millions of tons of minerals from the earth every year, a heavy environmental toll that should not be overlooked. 

However, when compared to the billions of tons of fossil fuels that oil, gas, and coal companies pull from the ground every year, and the costs those fuels place on the environment and public health, EVs come out as the clear winners.

An MIT study determined that, even when taking into account the manufacturing process and even if charged off the average U.S. electrical grid, an EV still was responsible for about 40% less pollution per mile over its lifetime than the average internal combustion vehicle.

And, the cleaner the electricity used to charge an EV, the more that gap widened, the study showed.

The best way to make sure that your EV is charged on 100% renewable energy is to install solar panels on your home. Going solar can drop your electric bill to practically zero, charging your EV for less than it would cost at a public charger or off the grid.

EnergySage offers free tools that make it quick and easy to compare quotes from vetted local installers and to identify tax credits and other incentives available in your area.

Statistics show that EnergySage saves customers an average of $10,000, but, with federal solar tax credits in the U.S. ending Dec. 31, 2025, the time to act is now. Similarly, EV tax credits end soon too, on Sept. 30, with credits up to $7,500 for a new EV or $4,000 for a used one.

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