Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson says that the company has surpassed Tesla as tech leader in the EV segment as the company prepares to heat up its rivalry with Elon Musk with the upcoming release of the Gravity three-row EV SUV.
Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson says that the company has surpassed Tesla as tech leader in the EV segment as the company prepares to heat up its rivalry with Elon Musk with the upcoming release of the Gravity three-row EV SUV.
It’s been a tough year for EV start-ups, Fisker filing for bankruptcy, and several others expected to follow. But there have been a few glimmers of hope. Price cuts helped Lucid outperform sales expectations during the second quarter, buying it time to bring a second product line to market later this year. But with Wall Street still skeptical, the California manufacturer remains critically dependent on cash from the Saudis, Lucid’s largest investor.
Lucid Group named a new PR chief, Nick Twork taking on global communications duties at the EV start-up. The move comes at a critical time for the Silicon Valley-based automaker. While its initial product line, the Air sedan, has received generally favorable reviews, Lucid has been struggling with sluggish sales and a rapid cash burn while waiting for the more mainstream Gravity SUV to debut later this year.
Struggling battery-electric start-up Lucid Group will cut 400 jobs as it tries to slash mounting financial woes. It’s far from the only EV manufacturer responding to slowing sales growth by trimming its workforce, however. And still more cuts are expected to follow in the months ahead.
In desperate need of a more affordable product that can deliver a big boost in sales, Lucid is working up a new compact SUV taking aim at the Tesla Model Y. Expect it to enter production by 2026, with a base price of less than $50,000, said CEO Peter Rawlinson, earlier than previously expected.
The 2024 Lucid Air Grand Touring remains one of the highest performance benchmarks in the EV segment. The company is aiming to keep it that way with a suite of updates that not only improve efficiency but other key aspects of the car as well.