Electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer. Polished On Monday, the group reported first-quarter revenue well below Wall Street estimates and forecasts 2023 output at the lower end of its previous guidance as a price war triggered by Tesla hurt sales.
Actions in the creator of the Air The luxury sedan was down about 9% in extended trade.
Tesla’s move to cut prices and increase volume, a strategy that the CEO Elon Musk said is part of the EV maker’s recession playbook, just as low-priced EVs launched by traditional automakers have hurt startups like Lucid and They revive Automotive sector.
Lucid, faced with mounting losses, has largely avoided lowering prices aside from a $7,500 discount on select variants of its Air luxury sedan purchased before March 31.
Instead, it said in late March it would lay off 18 percent of its workforce, about 1,300 employees, across the organization as part of a restructuring plan to keep costs down.
The company reported quarterly revenue of $149.4 million, compared to the average analyst estimate of $209.9 million, according to Refinitiv. Last month it reported lower first-quarter production and delivery figures than the previous three months.
“Revenue was actually the weakest since the second quarter of last year, so there’s a big lack in the top line,” said Garrett Nelson, an analyst at CFRA Research. “This could be an indication that this price war is having a direct impact on their results.”
Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson said in a statement on Monday that the company is on track to produce more than 10,000 vehicles in 2023, up from a previous forecast of 10,000-14,000 units this year.
“It seems to be a subtle change in driving,” Nelson said.
First quarter net loss increased to $779.5 million from $604.6 million a year prior, while cash and cash equivalents decreased to $900 million at the end of the first quarter from $1.74 billion of the fourth quarter.
CFO Sherry House said the company has $4.1 billion in cash, enough to fund the luxury EV maker into at least the second quarter of next year.
Lucid said in a separate regulatory filing on Monday that it could raise up to $7.4 billion through the sale of stock, debt, warrants or other offerings from time to time.
The electric vehicle maker is ready to unveil its Gravity sport utility vehicle later this year before its 2024 launch.
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