Lucid Motors CEO Peter Rawlinson praised what he called “world-class technology” for the electric car company on Tuesday, but acknowledged the challenges surrounding car production.
Rawlinson, a former Tesla engineering executive, appeared on CNBC the morning after Lucid announced a reverse merger with special-purpose acquisition company Churchill Capital Corp IV to go public. It is the largest SPAC transaction involving an EV company. SPACs are an alternative to initial public offerings for companies that wish to become publicly traded shares.
CCIV’s shares plunged nearly 48%, at $ 30 per share at the start of Tuesday’s trading, before recovering some of those losses, giving the resulting company a market value of more than $ 50 billion, according to Reuters, bigger than Ford Motor. In comparison, direct competitor Tesla has a market capitalization of more than $ 637 billion.
Before Monday night’s announcement and the subsequent stock decline, recent business speculation has prompted CCIV to rise 470% this year alone. Upon completion of the transaction, seen in the second quarter, Lucid is expected to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker LCID.
“I think the valuation is a reflection of our technology,” said Rawlinson, adding that more work needs to be done for Lucid to generate returns for investors. “What we need now is to execute with humility and diligence and put it into production. This is what will really generate value,” he emphasized, recognizing that making an electric car on a large scale is a difficult task.
Deliveries of Lucid’s first car, the all-electric Air, are now set for the second half of this year, a delay from the previous forecast. Production will take place at a plant the company built in southeast Phoenix in Casa Grande, Arizona. Air starts at $ 77,400, not including the federal EV tax credit.
Lucid projects that it will earn $ 2.9 billion in EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, in 2026, according to a presentation to the investor. It plans to deliver 251,000 vehicles that year. In addition to the luxurious Air, Lucid plans to start producing an SUV in 2023 and, eventually, “more affordable” vehicles in the future. Batteries manufactured by Lucid’s technology division, Atieva, are currently used in the Formula E racing electric circuit.
“I think we have an ambitious but achievable plan. We have shown that we can be executives,” said Rawlinson. “If you look at the factory we built today, we will see that we did it in record time.”
Rawlinson also spoke about the experience of executives and managers around him, including those with previous careers at companies like Tesla and Apple. The investor presentation said former employees of traditional automakers like Mazda, Ford and Audi are also on board.
“We have the experience. We have the delivery history,” said Rawlinson, who worked on the Model S while at Tesla. “What is really important now, however, particularly in the coming months, is to put our first product into production. This is the great litmus.”