Lucid was supposed to release its electric sedan – the Air – in spring 2021. We are already in summer, and the EV is not yet available, but Peter Rawlinson justified that back in February. Thanks to his SPAC deal and the deep pockets of its investors, the company could afford to deliver its first vehicle only when it considered it to be spotless. According to the Lucid CEO, the quality validation run started on June 18.
Those cars are theoretically ready to be delivered to customers, but they are still in an evaluation phase. If they are approved, deliveries may start soon. Rawlinson said his company is right on schedule for that to happen in the second half of 2021.
In his chat with CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Lucid’s CEO also discussed Tesla’s market cap. The presenter asked him how he thought that Lucid should be evaluated: as a traditional carmaker or Tesla.
According to Rawlinson, Tesla’s value comes from it being “the preeminent technology company in the EV field.” Lucid would join the automotive market as “a new force in EV technology.”
“It is the technology that justifies those valuations. It’s no longer the commodity valuation – how many cars you build – that determines the value of a company. It’s the technology and the future potential of that tech.”
Rawlinson also mentioned why his strategy was to tackle the luxury market instead of the mass-production segment, such as Ford and GM are planning to do with their EVs.
“There’s no market for electric cars. There’s a market for cars. I welcome the competition. Mercedes is coming now with the EQS, and this is great. The Lucid Air can be compared at the top table with the manufacturer that invented the car with the best offering from Stuttgart. There’s always room at the top. It’s mighty crowded down below.”
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