Lucid motors stock; After management told investors that reservations for its first vehicles had surged and that production plans for 2022 were still on track, Lucid Group’s market value blew past Ford Motor to $89.9 billion on Tuesday.
Lucid was also on the verge of eclipsing General Motors, which has a market capitalization of $90.9 billion. Lucid’s stock ended at $55.52 on Tuesday. GM finished at $62.61 a share on Tuesday, down less than 1%.
In a phone interview Monday night, CEO Peter Rawlinson said he believes the electric car start-stock up’s and market valuation has a long runway to soar beyond legacy automakers and eventually be valued more like industry leader Tesla.
In terms of in-house technologies and overall development of electric vehicles, Rawlinson, a former Tesla executive, routinely compares Lucid to his previous employer. On Monday, he and CFO Sherry House both stated the company’s recent stock rise is proof that Wall Street already sees Lucid as more of a Tesla than a typical manufacturer.
“I think the sky’s the limit in terms of valuation,” Rawlinson said in an interview with CNBC Monday night after Lucid released its first quarterly financial results as a public business. “It all comes down to execution and volume scalability. And that’s where I’m concentrating my efforts. And I believe the stock price lookup is a result of that.”
Lucid’s stock price has risen by more than 80% through Monday’s close since the firm went public through a SPAC sale in July. It’s still below its 52-week high of roughly $65 per share set in February, when Lucid was rumored to be close to a deal.
Lucid’s market capitalization is still far lower than Tesla’s, which has risen to more than $1 trillion this year. Rivian, an electric vehicle startup that went public last week, has a market capitalization of almost $140 billion.
During the joint interview, House told CNBC, “I feel wonderful about our stock price.” “The build-up that we’ve had, where we are now, and the growth trajectory that is ahead of us, to be honest. I see that we’re being viewed as a technology firm with a platform that can be used in a variety of vehicle configurations that uses sustainable technologies.”
The Air sedan was Lucid’s first automobile. Customers began receiving a $169,000 “Dream Edition” of the flagship car in late October, a month after commercial manufacturing began at a new factory in Casa Grande, Arizona. The automobile has a 520-mile range, which is the best in the industry.
Rawlinson stated that his goal with the Air was to create “the best car in the world,” which he believes he has accomplished. The Air was selected Car of the Year by MotorTrend on Monday, a prestigious distinction in the automotive industry.
“I believe the rest of the world realizes that we have a fantastic offering,” Rawlinson added. “Everyone understands that the car I’ve been promised would be the best in the world. That is correct. It has taken place.”
Since last year, Lucid is one of a handful of EV start-ups that have gone public through so-called SPAC offerings. Lucid, on the other hand, is generating income and building vehicles, unlike some of its SPAC contemporaries. Unlike Nikola, Lordstown Motors, and Canoo, it has also escaped any government probes into potentially deceptive representations to investors.
The young business is not yet profitable and is still in the early stages of revenue generation. The manufacturer made $232,000 in income in the third quarter, mostly due to a battery arrangement with the Formula E electric racing league. It recorded a $1.5 billion net loss for the first nine months of the year, with a $524.4 million loss in the third quarter.
In July, Lucid told investors that it intends to sell 20,000 Lucid Air cars in 2022, bringing in more than $2.2 billion in sales. On Monday, Rawlinson confirmed the output target, but warned that the “objective is not without risk” due to continued global supply chain disruptions in the automobile industry.
Investors were also informed on Monday that the business has received more than 17,000 reservations for its Air sedan, up from 13,000 in the third quarter.