Lucid has released its Q1 2024 financial results, and the luxury EV automaker continues to lose significant amounts of money building the Air sedan.
The company reported a revenue of $172.7 million, which surpassed Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $157 million. Despite this revenue beat, Lucid reported an adjusted loss per share of $0.30, wider than the anticipated $0.25 loss per share, indicating that profitability remains a challenge.
The total net loss for the quarter stood at $684.76 million, which is an improvement from last year’s Q1 loss of $779.5 million. Lucid produced 1,728 vehicles and delivered 1,967 in the first quarter, equating to a loss of nearly $350,000 for every Air sedan it sold in the first three months of the year. This was a slight improvement from the $377,000 it lost on each vehicle in the previous quarter.
The company ended Q1 2024 with $5.03 billion in total liquidity, supported by a $1 billion investment from its largest shareholder, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). Lucid says this gives them enough liquidity to continue operations until Q2 2025, signaling future investments from Saudi Arabia will be needed to bring their next electric vehicle (EV), the Gravity SUV, to market.
Despite the challenges, CEO Peter Rawlinson is optimistic about the future of the company, particularly with the upcoming Gravity SUV set for a “late 2024” production start, according to the company. Lucid is also planning to launch a more affordable midsize model in late 2026, aiming to attract a larger market segment.
I believe there are two factors that set Lucid apart – our superior, in-house technology and the partnership with the PIF. Our sales momentum is building, our focus upon cost remains relentless, and we believe Gravity is on track to become the best SUV in the world.
Peter Rawlinson
The mixed earnings report resulted in Lucid shares dropping nearly 10% in after-hours trading. Overall, the company’s shares are down over 32% year-to-date.
