According to CNBC, Lucid Group missed Wall Street expectations for the second straight quarter with a net loss of $978.4 million, or $3.31 per share. The electric vehicle maker’s adjusted EBITDA loss widened to $717.7 million compared to the expected $597.4 million loss. Revenue did increase 68% from $200 million a year earlier to roughly $336 million. Lucid is dealing with ongoing problems launching its flagship Gravity SUV while securing additional funding from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, increasing a credit facility from $750 million to $2 billion. The company ended the quarter with total liquidity of $5.5 billion including cash and cash equivalents of $1.6 billion.
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The Gravity of the situation
Here’s the thing about luxury EV startups – they’re basically burning cash while trying to scale production. Lucid’s situation is particularly tricky because they’re trying to launch the Gravity SUV while still figuring out how to make their Air sedan profitably. And let’s be honest, the SUV market is where the real money is in luxury vehicles. So if they’re having problems with the Gravity launch, that’s seriously bad news for their revenue projections.
I mean, look at the numbers – they lost nearly a billion dollars in just three months. That’s staggering even by EV startup standards. Sure, revenue grew 68%, but from what base? $200 million to $336 million isn’t exactly moving the needle when you’re burning through cash at this rate. The real question is: when does this become unsustainable even with Saudi backing?
The Saudi safety net
Speaking of that Saudi backing – the Public Investment Fund basically doubled down on their bet, increasing that credit facility to $2 billion. That’s both reassuring and concerning. Reassuring because it means Lucid isn’t about to run out of money tomorrow. Concerning because it shows just how much cash this company needs to stay afloat.
But here’s what really caught my attention: Lucid said they’re “evaluating finance and liquidity options outside of the PIF.” That tells me they might be preparing for a future where the Saudi money isn’t infinite. They’re developing a midsize vehicle that won’t even start production until late next year at the earliest. That’s a long time to keep burning cash at this rate.
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Lucid’s struggles highlight just how hard it is to transition from prototype to volume production. They’re not just building cars – they’re building an entire manufacturing ecosystem from scratch. And every delay, every production problem, costs them millions in lost revenue and investor confidence.
What comes next?
So where does Lucid go from here? They’ve got enough cash to survive for now, but they need to fix the Gravity SUV launch problems fast. The midsize vehicle they’re developing for late 2025 could be their make-or-break product – something more affordable that could actually sell in volume.
But the clock is ticking. Competitors aren’t standing still, and the EV market is getting more crowded every quarter. Lucid makes beautiful, technologically advanced vehicles, but that doesn’t matter if they can’t build them efficiently and profitably. The next few quarters will be crucial – either they figure out mass production, or they become another cautionary tale in the brutal EV startup landscape.
