Lucid Motors, the electric vehicle startup, has announced that production of its first cars for customers is underway, with deliveries expected to start by the end of next month. Lucid is the first electric vehicle company to go public through a SPAC deal and has a sellable vehicle available to consumers. This achievement is crucial for Lucid, which debuted on the Nasdaq in July and is seen as a strong contender against leading electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla.
Peter Rawlinson, CEO of Lucid and former Chief Engineer and Vice President of Engineering at Tesla, stated, "I am pleased that production cars of this level of efficiency are currently rolling out of the factory." The first Lucid car is a special edition of its flagship sedan, priced at $169,000, called the Air Dream Edition, boasting an industry-leading range of 520 miles. The company plans to produce only 520 units of this model.
Additionally, Lucid will launch vehicles at lower price points starting from $77,400, with an available federal tax credit of $7,500 for additional vehicles, known as the Lucid Air. The company reported over 13,000 total reservations so far.
In July, Lucid informed investors that it expects to produce 20,000 units of the Lucid Air sedan in 2022, generating more than $2.2 billion in revenue. Lucid is manufacturing the Air at a new factory in Casa Grande, Arizona, covering 590 acres, and the plant is anticipated to produce an SUV called Gravity in 2023.
Lucid was founded in 2007 as Atieva, which is now the name of its engineering and technology division that provides batteries for the Formula E electric racing series. The company initially focused on electric battery technology before rebranding and transitioning to electric vehicle manufacturing in 2016. Lucid faced challenges securing capital to fund its plans until September 2018 when it received $1 billion from the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which remains the largest shareholder in the company, holding about 62% of outstanding shares, according to FactSet.
