I recently became more acutely aware of Lucid after reading a long profile of Rawlinson and the company on The Information. I dug in more to look at options on both stock and product, and what I came away with after significant review is that Rawlinson holds his secret sauce to be this high efficiency drive train system which landed the Lucid Air at best in class around 5 miles / kwh and around 140 EPA mpge.

I consider these great, and I am always on the lookout for real innovators. However I did notice a bunch of other downsides which kept me on the fence in terms of design language, selection of segment for product offerings and just the general state of the market and competition. In that vein, as I did further research, I cam across information that Mercedes will release a full EV CLA that will supposedly get 5.2 miles / kwh, in 2025! Mercedes-Benz's all-electric sedan just broke a massive record with 24-hour endurance drive — here's what made it possible

If so, I would consider that a big problem for an incumbent with a dominant luxury brand to be able to at least equal a new entrant that is already struggling mightily (btw Kia Ionic 6 is also in the same ballpark, but I guess one could still overlook that as a less relevant brand, but if "everybody" can do it, then what is the advantage? Did Rawlinson waste too much time on his first mover advantage?).

I realize that the Air and CLA are not exactly in the same class, but there is for sure a lot of overlap given that "EV" preference is probably the number 1 thing buyers of both will be going for, and the basic technology of getting high efficiency is the same and can be transferred by a manufacturer to other products in their brand.

What do folks think about this? If Lucid no longer has this efficiency advantage is there anything else to the company?

I use as a daily driver 17k miles per year in the northeast. Need reliability but considering EV and the Benz EV is ugly. Intrigued by this Lucid Air Touring and considering making the move. Looking for some insight and experiences of those with the car.

I currently have Tesla and would love to jump to lucid if they have a decent Tesla tradw in promotion. Just hothoughts.

Listen to the full episode here: Bold Names: Why This Tesla Pioneer Says the Cheap EV Market 'Sucks'

Tesla, and its CEO Elon Musk, are the big names in electric vehicles, but a lot of competitors are nipping at their heels, including one led by a former top Tesla engineer.

Peter Rawlinson is the CEO of Lucid, a billion-dollar auto startup he says has better technology than its rivals. The company recently completed a $1.75 billion stock offering, and has backing from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

Now, as major automakers such as Volkswagen, General Motors and Ford pull back on their EV ambitions, find out why Rawlinson says Lucid’s all-in on luxury vehicles with a high price tag and, eventually, smaller batteries. Plus, why he says he won’t be building a $20,000 EV any time soon. He speaks to WSJ’s Tim Higgins and Christopher Mims in episode one of our interview series Bold Names.  

https://preview.redd.it/6rteyxqk8j0e1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=723fc451c92771376661dc96b9345be99a88cca3

New to the Lucid sphere here, but all I'm really seeing here are interviews (primarily from one source and with one spokesperson).

I'm a fan, recent deposit on a Gravity. But I want to know how the company is doing, and specifically is the stock investable at this point, or what's the outlook? More to the point, are they on a path to get out from behind the 8-ball and build the company into the 21st century leading US manufacturing type of company everyone hopes for? Or have they over-invested for a market that too many brands are chasing and too few customers are showing up for?

My sense is Rawlinson has a vision that was formed in a different time. But he's actually working in a high tech startup where nimbleness and pivoting are essential, not the plodding industrialized automotive industry. His team seems to be a mix of ex-Tesla + old school automotive, but I'm not sure I feel the fire in the belly in any of these guys and which is essential in high tech.

Pros:

- SOTA factory and techniques

- Excellent product

- Reasonable Brand

Cons:

- Losing lots of $ on reduced unit sales expectations, recent capital raise

- The luxury EV market have softened, Fed US incentives possibly going away

- CEO bonus award from 2 years ago is baffling.

- Over staffed?

Questions:

- Is the investment in the product (engineering and production) appropriate for the outlook?

- Is level of capital investment appropriate for the business outlook?

- What is the plan for break even?

I'd like to hear the plusses and minuses and opinions on the company in general. I get there are/should be lots of fans here, but I'm looking for some critical views too. I'm trying to decipher between a stock trade or an investment. thanks

I work for Q-insights, an automotive research company. We are looking for current owners of the following vehicles 2020 model year or newer (listed below) to participate in an upcoming focus group being held in Jersey City, New Jersey (Zip 07306) on November 15th, 16th, or 17th.

Audi RS e-tron GT

BMW i7 M70

Lucid Air Touring/Grand Touring/Sapphire

Mercedes-AMG EQS

Mercedes-Benz Maybach EQS SUV

Porsche Taycan 4S / Turbo / Turbo S / Turbo GT

Tesla Model S Plaid

There are absolutely no sales involved, this is strictly to get opinions regarding high end sports cars and luxury vehicles.

Participants will be compensated $600 for 3 hours of their time.

If you have one of these vehicles, please fill out the following link and one of our recruiters will contact you to schedule you:

https://forms.gle/ZCwRUnXeoYhBDcfL9