Lucid Q1 Earnings Miss Deepens as Seat Defect Derails Gravity SUV Sales, Production Guidance Pulled
Lucid Group reported first-quarter earnings that fell sharply short of Wall Street expectations on Tuesday, as a second-row seat defect that halted shipments of its Gravity SUV in February triggered a cascade of financial and operational setbacks. The company also withdrew its full-year production guidance, citing an ongoing review by its incoming CEO.
Revenue came in at $282.5 million, roughly 20% higher than the same period last year but far below the $440.4 million analysts had forecast, according to CNBC. The net loss per share of $3.46 also exceeded the $2.64 deficit analysts had projected. Lucid said the seat supplier issue caused more than $200 million in revenue impairment during the quarter.
The production-to-delivery gap was stark: while 5,500 vehicles rolled off the assembly line, only 3,093 reached customers. CFO Taoufiq Boussaid acknowledged in a statement that the shortfall left the company carrying what he called “elevated inventory.” The prior full-year production target of 25,000 to 27,000 vehicles has been suspended.
Boussaid pointed to the incoming CEO’s strategic review as the reason for the move. “With Silvio now on board and conducting his review of the business, we are suspending our prior guidance and will provide a full updated outlook at our second-quarter earnings call,” he told investors, per Reuters. Silvio Napoli, appointed CEO in April, is expected to spend the coming weeks assessing operations before unveiling a revised plan. Interim CEO Marc Winterhoff will return to his COO role once Napoli formally takes the helm.
The seat defect has since been resolved, and Lucid said momentum returned in March: North American order intake surged 144% compared with February, and deliveries rose 14% year-over-year. Still, the damage to investor confidence was immediate — shares dropped more than 8% in after-hours trading, according to Reuters.
Despite the turbulence, Lucid ended the quarter with roughly $3.2 billion in liquidity. When adjusted for the $1.05 billion raised through equity and convertible preferred stock in April, plus a new $500 million delayed draw term loan from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the company’s pro forma liquidity position stood at approximately $4.7 billion. Lucid said this gives it enough runway to operate through at least mid-to-late 2027.
On the autonomous driving front, Lucid said its robotaxi partnership with Uber has been expanded to at least 35,000 vehicles. Nuro, a self-driving startup involved in the program, secured a California DMV permit for driverless testing in April. Lucid expects to launch commercial robotaxi service later this year.
Industry reactions:
“This is a brutal miss — a $200 million revenue hit from a seat defect is almost unbelievable,” said Michael Tran, a former automotive analyst now running a mobility consulting firm in Detroit. “Lucid keeps blaming suppliers, but at some point, you have to ask: where’s the quality control? They’re burning cash and still can’t get the basics right. The Gravity was supposed to be their savior, and now it’s a liability.”
“The seat issue was unfortunate, but the bigger story here is that Lucid is managing through a leadership transition while trying to scale production,” said Sarah Kim, an EV supply chain specialist based in San Francisco. “The fact that they still have $4.7 billion in liquidity and are expanding the Uber partnership shows they’re not out of the game yet. I’d wait to see what Napoli’s review reveals before writing them off.”
“Honestly, I’m tired of the excuses,” said James Okonkwo, a retail investor and Lucid shareholder from Chicago. “Every quarter it’s something — supply chain, seats, guidance. They raised a billion dollars in April and the stock still tanks. When does it stop being ‘growing pains’ and start being ‘bad management’? I’m seriously considering selling.”