Lucid CEO Responds to Tesla FSD Comparison, Says Company Is Working With Outside Partners to Bring Hands-Free City Driving In 2027

Lucid plans to launch hands-free city driving in 2027 with partners, following its highway rollout, while expanding robotaxi efforts.

Lucid Group Inc. (NASDAQ:LCID) CEO Silvio Napoli said the electric vehicle maker is developing hands-free city driving with outside partners and expects to introduce the feature in 2027, responding to an investor’s comparison with Tesla Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:TSLA) Full Self-Driving system.

Lucid Targets City Driving After Highway Rollout

During Lucid’s November 9 third-quarter earnings call, an investor asked when the automaker could offer something comparable to Tesla’s FSD. "We do not talk about FSD. We talk about L2 or L4 or L2++," Napoli replied, distinguishing levels of driving automation.

"First of all, this year, actually the last two quarters, we introduced already the hands-free highway solution for both Air and Gravity," Napoli said. Lucid announced in June that its DreamDrive 2 Pro update enabled hands-free steering, acceleration and braking on compatible North American highways, while requiring drivers to remain attentive.

The executive said Lucid was still "finalizing and developing" city hands-free assistance. "That is something we are actively working together with outside partners, and we look forward to introducing this next year as the program completes," he added. Napoli did not identify the partners or specify a launch date within 2027.

Tesla Offers Supervised City-Street Driving Today

In a support blog post, Tesla says its FSD (Supervised) system can navigate city streets, intersections, and highways, but requires active driver supervision and does not make vehicles autonomous.

Lucid has already outlined its autonomous ambitions through a partnership with Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE:UBER) and Nuro. Lucid said on Monday that the robotaxi project met all third-quarter milestones and expanded to more than 100 vehicles on the road in August.

Lucid classifies its hands-free assistance as Level 2 technology, while its separate robotaxi partnership with Uber and Nuro uses a Level 4 autonomous-driving system.

Robotaxi Partnerships Expand Amid Turnaround Efforts

Lucid also announced in September a partnership with European mobility company Bolt targeting at least 25,000 autonomous vehicles based on its upcoming midsize platform, extending its plans beyond the earlier Uber-Nuro collaboration.

The Tesla rival said in a press release on Monday that it expanded its credit facility with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund by $1.75 billion. The company said pro forma liquidity reached $3.75 billion, enough to support operations and investment into the fourth quarter of 2027.

Price Action: LCID shares were down 3.61% at $3.47 in after-market hours after gaining 9.42% during intraday trading on Monday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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