One-on-one with Peter Rawlinson, CEO, Lucid Motors

The pressure is on for Lucid Motors. Shares of the electric vehicle company closed up more than 10.6% on its first day of trading on Monday.

Why it matters: Lucid has yet to deliver any cars. The company went public by merging with a SPAC, Churchill Capital Corp. IV, in part to get enough cash to start production.

• When it does, it will compete with Tesla and legacy automakers entering the EV market.

The big picture: Peter Rawlinson, the CEO and CTO of Lucid Motors, tells Axios that a year from now he hopes to be "making progressively more affordable versions" of the cars.

• And five years from now, he expects performance levels of EVs, "paradoxically," to decline as the charging infrastructure expands.
• "Most people's cars [won't] be as high performance," he says. "If you reduce range, you inherently reduce power as well."
• "Pat me on the back when this thing is in production. We'll have a party [then]."

By the numbers: Lucid's top model, the $169,000 Air “Dream Edition” sedan, features 1,080 horsepower and a 503-mile range per charge.

• For comparison, Tesla’s top-line Model S “Plaid” has 1,020 horsepower and a 396-mile range, and costs $129,990.
• Mercedes’ new EQS is expected to go for up to $185,000, with around 516 horsepower, and reach a range of 360 miles, per Car and Driver.

Lucid's deal with CCIV valued the EV maker at $24 billion and brought it $4.4 billion in capital.

• Lucid says it has received more than 11,000 paid reservations. 

What to watch: Feverish enthusiasm for EV companies has cooled, as investors look for less risky plays amid continuing chip shortages and a higher-than-expected rate of inflation.

Go deeper: Lucid CEO says its tech could push EVs mainstream