Lucid, the luxury EV company, is undergoing some significant changes as it continues to expand its presence in the autonomous vehicle market. On Tuesday, Lucid announced that it is strengthening its partnership with Uber by increasing the number of Lucid Gravity SUVs purchased for its robotaxi fleet from 20,000 to 35,000. This expansion comes as part of a larger robotaxi deal that was announced last year, involving Uber, Lucid, and autonomous delivery startup Nuro. The deal aims to deploy thousands of autonomous vehicles in the US over the next six years, with the first service set to launch in San Francisco.
In addition to expanding its partnership with Uber, Lucid is also receiving additional investment capital. Uber is contributing an extra $200 million on top of the $300 million it provided last year. This investment is in addition to the hundreds of millions of dollars Uber has already invested in Nuro, the company responsible for developing the self-driving systems for the robotaxis. Furthermore, Lucid is securing an additional $500 million in funding from an affiliate of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, which already holds a controlling stake in the company.
As part of these changes, Lucid has announced the appointment of a new CEO, Silvio Napoli. Napoli, a Swiss-Italian executive with over three decades of experience in running one of the world’s largest elevator and escalator companies, will be taking over the reins at Lucid. This appointment marks the end of a 14-month search for a permanent replacement for Peter Rawlinson, who stepped down as CEO in February of last year. During the search for a new CEO, Marc Winterhoff, the company’s Chief Operating Officer, temporarily assumed the role. Rawlinson, a key figure in the founding of Lucid and former chief engineer of the Tesla Model S, played a significant role in shaping the company’s early development.
With these changes in leadership and strategic partnerships, Lucid is poised to make a significant impact in the autonomous vehicle market. The company’s focus on innovation and collaboration with industry leaders like Uber and Nuro demonstrates its commitment to revolutionizing transportation through cutting-edge technology. As Lucid continues to push boundaries and drive progress in the EV industry, the future looks bright for this pioneering company.