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