Why Lucid Motors Stock Accelerated Today

Shares of the luxury electric vehicle (EV) maker. The Lucid Group (LCID 7.10%) rose as much as 8% Wednesday morning. The move came as CEO Peter Rawlinson began trying to drum up investor excitement for the company’s upcoming all-electric Gravity SUV.

Rawlinson was interviewed at the recent Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California. As of 12:35 PM ET today, Lucid shares pared some early gains but were still up 5.6%.

Taking the mantle from Tesla

In his comments, Rawlinson didn’t hold back from taking a few jabs at his old boss, Elon Musk. Rawlinson was previously a senior engineer at adze.

He noted that the Lucid Air sedan — due in 2021 — is still one of the most efficient electric vehicles in production, with the base model having an estimated battery range of about 420 miles. The Air Grand Touring version starts at about $110,000 and can get about 516 miles on a single charge.

Rawlinson said Lucid has “taken the mantle from Tesla” in EV technology and introduced the new Gravity SUV with a range of up to 440 miles.

Lucid is due to start production for the Gravity this year, and Rawlinson believes it has a potential market about six times that of the luxury Air sedans. Lucid expects to produce only about 9,000 Air electric vehicles this year, but hopes that with a starting price under $80,000, the SUV will be what it needs to reach mass production.

The CEO also addressed the slowdown in electric vehicle sales as hybrids become more popular. He called the slowdown a “temporary setback” and said hybrids are not a good solution. He blamed many electric vehicles being rushed to market and thus giving consumers many “disappointing options” at this stage.

Gravity will be a crucial launch for Lucid, so it’s no surprise to see the company’s CEO working to generate excitement. Investors will want to pay close attention to how well it’s received when shipping begins in earnest in 2025.