Lucid Doubles Sales but Still Plunges Deep into Red—Loses $250K per Vehicle, Cuts 12% of Workforce

On February 21, U.S. electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors announced it would cut approximately 12% of its workforce—the company’s third round of layoffs since March 2023. Despite producing 18,378 vehicles in 2024, a 104% year-over-year increase, and delivering 15,841 units, up 55% from the previous year, Lucid reported a staggering net loss of $2.714 billion for the full year—equivalent to roughly RMB 1.83 million in losses per vehicle sold, far exceeding the losses of Chinese EV startups. Currently, Lucid offers only two luxury all-electric models: the Air sedan and the Gravity SUV, with starting prices of approximately $77,000 and $80,000, respectively. Interim CEO Mark W. Wilhelmsen stated that the layoffs aim to enhance operational efficiency, optimize resources, and accelerate the path to profitability. However, Lucid still faces significant challenges in its early market expansion phase, especially against strong competitors like Tesla.