Lucid Motors recently placed one of its Air models next to a Supercharger station in West Hollywood, hoping to lure waiting Tesla drivers with free test drives. But the supposedly clever idea was seen by some on social networks as an act of desperation. The situation at Lucid is precarious. The best people leave the board
, the numbers of the luxury car manufacturer are getting worse and worse.
On Monday night, CEO Peter Rawlinson (65) and CFO Sherry House announced a loss of $779.5 million in the first quarter of 2023. Negative cash flow was more than $1 billion. Once again, Rawlinson had to correct his intentions. So far in the current year he has promised to build up to 14,000 Lucid models, the boss is now only assuming 10,000 units.
Production is the most prominent, but only one of Lucid’s problems. The brand is apparently getting rid of its Air electric model, which Rawlinson once again praised as “the best on the market” when presenting the current figures. In the first quarter, Lucid produced 2,314 new vehicles but only delivered 1,406. The manufacturer no longer reports the number of pre-orders – Lucid once boasted 37,000 reservations. At the same time, inventory on the balance sheet has swelled, most recently to more than $1 billion.
Rawlinson, who recently laid off 1,300 employees, justified the lousy numbers in an investor call, primarily with macroeconomic influences. “Our mission and our optimism remain unchanged,” CFO House tried to reassure. An SUV model, the Gravity, will be presented later this year. Nobody has to worry about the finances, Lucid has 4.1 billion dollars in liquid funds, which will last at least a year. Only $900 million of that is left in cash.
Old quote catches up with Rawlinson
The promises of the Lucid tip are getting worse and worse for investors. Shareholders were able to submit questions in advance, with the most popular submission responding to an earlier quote by Rawlinson: “I like to under-promise and over-deliver.” At Lucid, however, the opposite has been the case so far, an investor accused the CEO. Rawlinson stressed that he took the frustration “very seriously”, but then took refuge behind supply chain problems that nobody could have foreseen and the difficult market environment. However, Lucid is still in a “technology race. And our technology is unique.”
Lucid’s already battered share lost up to 9 percent after the figures were announced. At Twitter several users under Lucid’s post demanded Rawlinson’s dismissal. Tech influencer Warren Redlich described the quarterly results as “a bloodbath for Lucid”.
But Peter Rawlinson only has to worry about his job if Lucid’s main investor loses patience. Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund holds around 60 percent of the US automaker. He recently expanded his influence further by installing Turqi Alnowaiser, an emissary, as the head of the Lucid supervisory board.
Rawlinson also had an important personnel announcement to make at the operational level. Andrea Soriani becomes the new Lucid Marketing Director. Soriani has worked for Ferrari and Maserati in the past. Lucid can use fresh marketing ideas. According to some Twitter users, hardly anyone wanted to test the Air at the Supercharger station in West Hollywood.