LUCID cutting 18 percent of staff

[VC_Rivian]

While I know Rivian has a relationship with Rivian, Lucid would be a great acquisition. They have some great tech that could be integrated into the stack for the VM brands and help them catch up to the others.

They have such a large backing from the Saudis I doubt they will disappear though.

With Rivian being SUVs and a truck. Adding the Air (sedan) and marketing the Gravity as a van would be a nice product line, but doubt it happens.

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[9527]

I’m leasing a Lucid Air now and I can’t wait to return it in 3 months. It is a car I really really want to love but I just can’t. It’s the best driving vehicle I’ve ever driven. It’s very comfortable and quiet and also super efficient.

The software ruined the whole experience. They still couldn’t figure out the PAAK. Still can’t fix native Spotify. No customization on the dash screen. No sentry mode. Autosteer costs extra. Frequent long boot up time. I only have a 18-month lease and there has been no major updates on the UI during my entire lease probably because they put all the resources on the Gravity which it has its own share of software issues.

The hardware is top notch. It’s such a shame.

 

[TexasBob]

While I know Rivian has a relationship with Rivian, Lucid would be a great acquisition. They have some great tech that could be integrated into the stack for the VM brands and help them catch up to the others.

They have such a large backing from the Saudis I doubt they will disappear though.

PIF is done giving them money.

Lucid is dead man walking. Rivian could get something out of them but the liability is too much. The best transaction I see is take the KSA factory (AMP2) and give it to PIF as a completed shell which it can use to entice BYD to come into the Kingdom at scale (strategic objective win). Then sell the AZ factory and IP to Magna which will be able to immediately put it to work as contract manufacturing and can use the powertrain tech in its core Tier 1 business. Shut down the consumer business, turn the Gravity into a robotaxi only platform (same as they did with the iPace). All the pieces worth probably 1/2 of today's market cap or ~$900 million.

 

[Zathras]

At their current rate of growth, China will have better than 25% of the Euro market within five years. So far, just this year, BYD has become the #1 seller in Great Britain, DESPITE not being part of UK's incentive program. Even Saudi Arabia cannot subsidize a vehicle manufacturer the way China is subsidizing their entire EV and renewables industry. In Hong Kong alone, 80% of new car sales are EV's. Who would have thought, 20 years ago, we'd be jealously admiring China? Many established automakers, let alone Lucid, Rivan and other startups will be very hard-pressed to maintain or get a toehold.

I would imagine it. In 2013 I spent three weeks in China visiting factories and learning about Chinese manufacturing in general. Of course the industry I was focusing on was jewelry, but the mind-set in China when it comes to business and competitiveness crosses industries. I was in an elevator full of factory owners and one turned to me and asked why Americans are so aggressive towards China. "We just want to do business." And I have no doubt he was sincere. But I do believe you simply don't speak about the negative side of things over there and remain in the elite caste.

Anyway, my point is I could see why so many admire China. But I would never live there in a million years.

 

[tivoboy]

In my own little way I helped get these guys during the ramp of the transition from Atieva to Lucid, when they shifted from making batteries to designing their first car When they were in Menlo ParK.. and there was some nice $$ to be made during the pandemic for sure After they were public.

Can you believe this was once a ~ $600 Stonk!

I do think the end is near. The PIF is not interested in where the technology here is at and most likely would rather make investments in other OEM EV companies at this point and not continue to fund this enterprise.. and I doubt anyone else will.

It’s also certainly the next Fisker or whatever that other Vietnamese EV company was.

 

[ndmiller]

While I know Rivian has a relationship with Rivian, Lucid would be a great acquisition.

Lucid has $3-5B in liquidity and over $3B in debt. No-one is acquiring them, they'll either make it or they won't.

 

[mkg3]

I’m leasing a Lucid Air now and I can’t wait to return it in 3 months. It is a car I really really want to love but I just can’t. It’s the best driving vehicle I’ve ever driven. It’s very comfortable and quiet and also super efficient.

The software ruined the whole experience. They still couldn’t figure out the PAAK. Still can’t fix native Spotify. No customization on the dash screen. No sentry mode. Autosteer costs extra. Frequent long boot up time. I only have a 18-month lease and there has been no major updates on the UI during my entire lease probably because they put all the resources on the Gravity which it has its own share of software issues.

The hardware is top notch. It’s such a shame.

Don't take this the wrong way. I just found this post to be how people see autos today versus how it used to be and just SMH.

It used to be that "best driving vehicle I've ever driven" would be the top priority and made the car highly sought after. Today, it appears not very high on a vehicle characteristics. Personally, I put this as one of the highest things on my list of vehicle choice.

Instead, its the software, PAAK, customizable dash screen (I recall analog tachometer, speedo, temperature and oil pressure gauges being desirable and not different layout for different drive mode or personalizing the dash display), and of course ADAS.

No wonder there are very few new real sport cars. Even BMW stopped making the Z4 and don't get me started on the fake shifters on EVs....

 

[Great Gatsby]

Don't take this the wrong way. I just found this post to be how people see autos today versus how it used to be and just SMH.

It used to be that "best driving vehicle I've ever driven" would be the top priority and made the car highly sought after. Today, it appears not very high on a vehicle characteristics. Personally, I put this as one of the highest things on my list of vehicle choice.

Instead, its the software, PAAK, customizable dash screen (I recall analog tachometer, speedo, temperature and oil pressure gauges being desirable and not different layout for different drive mode or personalizing the dash display), and of course ADAS.

No wonder there are very few new real sport cars. Even BMW stopped making the Z4 and don't get me started on the fake shifters on EVs....

I hear what you are saying also but driving dynamics being the best part of the vehicle made sense in a more analogue world. The reason software matters so much now it is because it very much affects how you interact with a vehicle. Amazing driving dynamics will not get you excited enough to deal with issues like the vehicle not unlocking or starting up - issues which Lucid has faced (literally up until this day).

Lucid should have gone simpler in their design but instead it chose to chase Tesla into the software battle. A battle that made sense at the time but they also wanted to be a luxury and a performance company with startup money and time. I agree with Lucid's driving great, and the space they provide inside is truly magic along with some nice material choices. But is that all worth it when the screens freeze when I put the navigation, car doesn't unlock when I have hands full of groceries or the AC decides to do its own thing because the software is so buggy?

I spend a lot of time on the Lucid forums because I (and my wife) have heavily considered them in the past. Almost everyone agrees that they drive great and are an engineering masterpiece. The issue with ownership comes when the car does not work as intended because the technological aspects dampen the engineering side. Just not worth dealing with when most people use these as a daily driver.

My two cents, but overall in agreement with you. Sadly, the way a vehicle drives literally takes the backseat to everything else. The Rav4 is the best selling vehicle in the world. Reliability and familiarity are for important to the average person. Vehicles are expected to do it all now which is great in theory but it ends up just making everything the same (a compact SUV that is cheap to run - Rav4 and Model Y).

 

[mkg3]

I hear what you are saying also but driving dynamics being the best part of the vehicle made sense in a more analogue world. The reason software matters so much now it is because it very much affects how you interact with a vehicle. Amazing driving dynamics will not get you excited enough to deal with issues like the vehicle not unlocking or starting up - issues which Lucid has faced (literally up until this day)...

Here's the thing. While we rely on the digital technologies, we still reside in an analogue existence. Everything we see, hear, feel as a living being is analogue.

Appreciate the frustration, if the vehicle does not open/unlock, start the vehicle. We've gotten, those of us on EV only, so used to using PAAK and just select "D" and drive. I'd argue that there is thing called a ignition key and door lock via a key or fob.

Because I care about the driving experience and driving dynamics, I put value on getting steering feedback from hydraulic power steering, and feel the vehicle motions through the seat of my pants in the driver's seat.

I do not accept the notion that what we are talking about is mutually exclusive. It is possible to have both.

 

[savethemanual]

Balance is key, the digital and analog experience are both here to stay.

 

[Thebandit]

With Rivian being SUVs and a truck. Adding the Air (sedan) and marketing the Gravity as a van would be a nice product line, but doubt it happens.

Out of curiosity, I just looked at a list of the 25 top selling vehicles in America.

21 of the 25 are trucks and SUVs. The Camry, Corolla, Civic, and Model 3 are the only exceptions.

 

[Time2Roll]

Yes Lucid needs a lower price SUV with a low cost build. Taking too long with the flagship vehicles.

Could soon become the Betamax of car companies.

 

[Zathras]

Lucid needs a miracle to fix its software.

 

[Mos Eisley]

Balance is key, the digital and analog experience are both here to stay.

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