Lucid’s Cash Crisis Deepens as Saudi Funding Shows Limits originally appeared on Autoblog.
Rising sales can’t hide deep losses
When you see a Lucid Air Sapphire drive by, it's hard not to stare. The $250,000, 1,234-horsepower luxury EV gets attention. Lucid is also getting its fair share of negative attention these days due to massive losses amounting to $790 million amid a record $259 million in revenue. Lucid's year-over-year sales volume of 3,309 vehicles is its best yet, but that doesn't cover up the fact that the company is struggling.
Although Lucid vehicles get rave reviews from the motoring press, the real story behind the company is far less glamorous. Sales are up, but losses are far greater. What's going on with Lucid Motors, after all, and will it manage to dig itself out of a financial tailspin?
Why do Lucid's books look so bad?
Lucid Group has a fat cash cushion of $4.86 billion in total liquidity, but only about $3.63 billion of that is in cash, cash equivalents, and investments. Less than $2 billion is actually liquid. That's not enough to help them in their time of need. The company incurs mounting losses of a billion dollars every few months, so its funds are dwindling.
At the time of this writing, Lucid stock is at $2.18 per share, in penny stock territory. The share price was $55 in November of 2021. The dire stock price forced the company into a reverse stock split a few weeks ago (ten shares consolidated into one) just to stay compliant with NASDAQ listing requirements.
Investors are already doubtful about Lucid's future. Officially, Lucid states that it can continue to operate through mid-2026. Unofficially, the company will likely need a significant cash infusion, comparable to the $4.4 billion it raised in 2021 when it went public. That's a lot to ask when you keep digging a hole for yourself.
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) from Saudi Arabia could be its saviour. Lucid’s largest shareholder owns about 60% of the company and has acted as its safety net since day one. With hundreds of billions in assets, the PIF has the means to keep the company afloat, but do they actually want to keep losing money when the math is not on Lucid's side? Lucid Group spent more than $850 million this quarter to generate just $260 million, which may not be the best investment.
The leadership crisis doesn't help
One of the largest obstacles to investor confidence and wise direction is the fact that there's still no permanent CEO to helm the ship. Leadership uncertainty only compounds the risk. The company still hasn’t replaced former CEO Peter Rawlinson, who left in February 2025, leaving interim leadership to steer the company through a high-stakes turnaround. Rawlinson transitioned to the position of Strategic Technical Advisor to the Board Chairman. Marc Winterhoff, the company's Chief Operating Officer, was appointed as the interim CEO. As yet, Rawlinson's successor hasn't been named.
Meanwhile, Lucid’s future bets are still works in progress. The Gravity SUV, touted as the brand’s volume driver, has yet to deliver meaningful sales, and production challenges remain. Lucid will start making volume deliveries next year. Orders for the Grand Touring trim are currently open, while orders for the less expensive Touring trim will open in late 2025. The real make-or-break moment could arrive in late 2026 when Lucid plans to launch a more affordable, sub-$50,000 mid-sized electric SUV purportedly dubbed 'Earth'. This could be the brand's ticket to achieving volume sales, but the question remains whether the company will live to see the day.
Final thoughts
The polish and power of Lucid vehicles are deceptive. Underneath the shiny surface, Lucid is running out of time to prove it can be more than a niche luxury automaker burning through mountains of cash at accelerated rates. Its deep-pocketed Saudi investors may decide to keep writing checks to try to save Lucid's bacon, but the appetite for doing so may be dwindling. It would be in the brand's best interest to find a CEO ASAP, as well as bring its more affordable SUV to market as quickly as possible.
Lucid’s Cash Crisis Deepens as Saudi Funding Shows Limits first appeared on Autoblog on Aug 18, 2025
This story was originally reported by Autoblog on Aug 18, 2025, where it first appeared.
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