Two years after a brutal restructuring gutted Motional’s workforce and halted its commercial operations, the Hyundai-backed AV company is back on the Strip, still with a safety operator for now, but promising to remove one by the end of 2026.

Uber and Motional have relaunched a commercial robotaxi service in Las Vegas, making all-electric Motional IONIQ 5 vehicles available to riders across key locations on and around the Strip from 13 March 2026.

The service marks a significant milestone for Motional, which two years ago paused its commercial operations entirely, cut roughly 40% of its workforce, and was left fighting for its survival after co-founder Aptiv pulled its funding.

The relaunch is not yet fully driverless. Initially, Motional’s IONIQ 5 robotaxis will carry a human vehicle operator monitoring the road from the driver’s seat.

The company says it expects to remove the safety operator and begin a fully driverless service by the end of 2026, delivering on the target it set during its 2024 restructuring.

How the service works

Riders who request an UberX, Uber Electric, Uber Comfort, or Uber Comfort Electric may be matched with a Motional IONIQ 5 at no additional cost. When matched, a notification appears in the app giving riders the option to accept the autonomous vehicle or switch to a conventional ride.

Users who want to maximise their chances of getting an AV can opt in via the Ride Preferences section in their Uber app settings.

Once a robotaxi arrives, the vehicle can be unlocked and the trip started entirely through the Uber app.

Inside, audio cues prompt riders to close doors and fasten seatbelts. If support is needed at any point, a human assistance team is reachable through the Uber app.

At launch, the service covers designated rideshare zones along Las Vegas Boulevard at Resorts World Las Vegas and Encore at the Wynn, plus Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino, curbside locations in Downtown Las Vegas, and the Town Square shopping district near the airport.

Both companies say they plan to expand the operating area but did not give specifics.

The vehicle: SAE Level 4, FMVSS-certified

The IONIQ 5 robotaxi was co-developed by Motional and Hyundai Motor Group and is custom-built for ride-hail operations. According to Uber, it is one of the first SAE Level 4-capable autonomous vehicles to be certified under US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), the federal regulatory framework for motor vehicle equipment.

SAE Level 4 means the vehicle can handle all driving functions within a defined operational design domain without human intervention, though it does not require the capability to operate in all conditions everywhere.

“This milestone reflects our shared commitment to introduce autonomous vehicles in a way that prioritizes safety, increases reliability, and expands access to more ride options for our customers,” said Sarfraz Maredia, President of Autonomous Mobility & Delivery, Uber

Motional’s road back: from near-collapse to relaunch

The relaunch is the culmination of a turbulent two-year recovery. Motional was founded in 2020 as a $4 billion equal joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and automotive technology company Aptiv.

It ran pilot rides in Las Vegas via Uber and Lyft and deliveries in Los Angeles via Uber Eats, all with a human safety operator present, and accumulated more than 130,000 autonomous rides through those programmes.

The company’s troubles crystallised in early 2024, when Aptiv announced it would stop allocating capital to the venture, citing the high cost of commercialising robotaxi technology and an uncertain path to profitability. Aptiv had forecast a non-cash equity loss of around $340 million for 2024 alone.

With Aptiv’s withdrawal threatening to destabilise the entire company, Hyundai stepped in with a near-$1 billion commitment: $475 million invested directly into Motional and $448 million to buy out 11% of Aptiv’s common equity interest. The restructuring left Hyundai with approximately 85% of Motional’s common equity and Aptiv with 15%.

The funding came with painful conditions. Motional halted all commercial rides and deliveries, paused plans to launch its second-generation driverless service, and cut approximately 550 staff, around 40% of its total workforce, across teams in Las Vegas, Pittsburgh, California, and Massachusetts. T

he company pivoted to focus exclusively on improving its underlying autonomous technology, including a shift toward a more neural network-driven approach to autonomy, before attempting any new commercial deployment.

Motional returned to fundraising in August 2025 with a $550 million Series B round led by Aptiv and joined by Hyundai and Nuance Investments, which boosted its valuation to $6.5 billion. That capital, combined with the technology rebuild, underpins today’s relaunch.

A busy week for Uber’s autonomous ambitions

The Las Vegas launch is not a standalone announcement. In the same week, Uber confirmed a deal with Zoox, Amazon’s autonomous vehicle subsidiary, to deploy Zoox’s purpose-built robotaxis on the Uber platform, initially in Las Vegas from summer 2026, followed by Los Angeles in mid-2027.

Uber and Wayve also announced a collaboration with Nissan on a robotaxi pilot in Tokyo, targeted for late 2026, which would be Uber’s first autonomous vehicle partnership in Japan.

Uber says it is currently working with more than 25 autonomous vehicle partners across its Mobility, Delivery, and Freight divisions. The company announced earlier in 2026 that it plans to invest more than $100 million in charging infrastructure for autonomous vehicles.

Its autonomous solutions division, launched in February 2026 under Maredia’s oversight, is focused on helping AV technology companies commercialise their deployments faster by providing demand generation, rider experience, customer support, and fleet management services.

For Motional, the Las Vegas service is both a proof point and a pressure test. The company’s technology, rebuilt and retrained in the background since 2024, now faces its first sustained real-world commercial deployment with paying riders.