Lucid CEO: We've taken the mantle from a 'distracted' Tesla

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Lucid Motors (LCID) has a lot riding on its next EV, the Gravity SUV, when it comes out later this year.

Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson spoke to Yahoo Finance from the Pebble Beach Concept lawn, where select automakers show off new vehicles of note during Monterey Auto Week.

Rawlinson is bullish on the Gravity and believes it can more than double the company’s sales, which hit 2,394 deliveries of its pricey Air sedan in the second quarter.

“We believe that the total addressable market for Gravity is six times that of Lucid Air,” Rawlinson said in an interview (which took place in the Gravity’s sizeable frunk).

“We're just in in the process of completing the build-out of our [plant] in Arizona to a capacity of 90,000 units per annum. We're on track for manufacturing around 9,000 Lucid Airs this year, Gravity is going to come in, and our finances are dominated by scale. It's all scale, scale, scale. And this is a big step in that scale,” Rawlinson added.

While financial flexibility — and the backing of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund — will give Lucid the runway it needs, Rawlinson believes Lucid’s technology will push it over the top to trump Tesla's.

“We are considerably ahead of where Tesla is. We've taken that mantle. When I was at Tesla, Tesla was the tech leader. They've become distracted, and we have taken that place,” he said, referring to what he believes is Lucid's tech advantage in batteries, software, and powertrain.

Rawlinson posted data on LinkedIn showing how far ahead of Tesla Lucid's tech is, in terms of efficiency. Rawlinson mentioned Lucid vehicles have the capability to eke out 5 miles of distance in one kWh, which is remarkable when the industry average is around 3 to 4 miles, which is where Tesla stands. 

Other manufacturers, like Aston Martin, for example, have inked technology licensing deals for Lucid tech, believing it to be best in class.

Rawlinson's dig at a "distracted" Tesla may have more to do with Elon Musk than the company itself. Musk's various side projects, his posting of inflammatory material on X, making moves like laying off Tesla's Supercharger team, and focusing his team's efforts on robotaxis have been questioned by critics and Wall Street analysts alike.

Nevertheless, while Rawlinson touts Lucid's tech, his company is nowhere near profitable, and that’s one area Musk and Tesla can hang their hat on.

Investors will be keenly watching whether Lucid and its CEO can turn their perceived tech advantage into positive cash flow when the Gravity comes out later this year.

Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.

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Lucid CEO: We've taken the mantle from a 'distracted' Tesla

Lucid CEO: We've taken the mantle from a 'distracted' Tesla

Lucid CEO: We've taken the mantle from a 'distracted' Tesla

Lucid CEO: We've taken the mantle from a 'distracted' Tesla

Lucid CEO: We've taken the mantle from a 'distracted' Tesla