Lucid CEO: Talking With “A Couple” Of Auto Brands On Partnership

Lucid Motors CEO Peter Rawlinson appeared on Bloomberg TV Thursday morning to discuss how the struggling electric vehicle (EV) maker is in discussions with “multiple automakers about potential partnerships.”

Lucid would welcome an opportunity to share costs and intellectual property with a traditional car company, Chief Executive Officer Peter Rawlinson told Bloomberg TV, noting that there are ongoing conversations with “a couple” of manufacturers.

“It would be lovely if we could supply technology to a traditional car company to help them on their way to sustainability, and perhaps we can leverage economies of scale with their parts bin and other aspects of the business,” Rawlinson said in an interview.

Interesting interview !! Worth to watch $LCID #LucidMotors Reveals 450 Miles Range EV https://t.co/tue4sRoiGU pic.twitter.com/wRQdoZ7sqw

— Lucid (@rocckosw23) December 12, 2024

California-based Lucid is struggling in the era of Tesla winning the EV price war and risks that President-elect Donald Trump will cut the $7,500 tax credit next year. 

Lucid’s third-quarter revenue of $137.8 million was nearly 30% below the same period one year ago, while vehicle production for the year was between 8,000 and 8,500 vehicles, down from a target of 10,000. 

In a separate report, we noted that Luicid lost a little more than a quarter million dollars per car sold. This is alarming and only made possible after a decade of negative real rates and unlimited QE. 

Lucid is not alone in its financial struggles within the EV sector. Rivian, another upscale EV maker, faced a loss of $33,000 per vehicle sold in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Ford, a traditional automaker, anticipates over $4 billion in losses from its EV division this year.

Meanwhile, Tesla’s Elon Musk has encouraged Trump to eliminate the $7,500 consumer tax credit, which would ultimately be a play in nuking his competition, such as Lucid, Rivian, and legacy automakers. 

In premarket, the CEO’s comments on Bloomberg barely budged the stock. Shares are down 42% on the year. Short interest is about 23% of the float with 4.4 days to cover.

Lucid is supported by the Saudi Arabian public investment fund and recently entered into a partnership with Volkswagen. 

At the beginning of the year, Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas outlined various pathways for struggling EV companies to navigate the downturn. The note was titled “Can EV Slowdown Trigger Auto M&A Wave?”