Lucid’s future was already cloudy, but lately the EV startup’s name is practically a misnomer.
On Wednesday, Lucid told investors that it delivered 1,404 of its Air sedans during the second quarter, missing Wall Street analysts’ expectations by nearly 600 vehicle deliveries. The startup also said it built 2,173 vehicles during Q2, down from 2,314 in the first quarter of the year.
Investors already had cause for concern about slipping demand for Lucid’s luxury EVs, and the latest stats only reinforce that narrative. So, it’s no surprise that LCID is now in the dumps. Individual shares opened at $7.74 today and tumbled more than 12% during regular trading, per Google Finance. After hitting a low of $7.08 a share, the stock ticked up a bit to around $7.22 this afternoon. The company’s 52-week high of $21.78 per share has long faded in its proverbial rearview mirror.
While sharing its new stats, Lucid asserted in a statement that these delivery and production figures “represent only one measure” of its performance. For additional insights, we’ll have to wait until August 7, when the firm is slated to fully open its Q2 books.
No matter what’s in that quarterly report, 2023 will be a seriously rocky year for Lucid.
To briefly recap the year so far: The company celebrated a production milestone in January, missed Wall Street’s delivery expectations in February, recalled hundreds of vehicles and said it would downsize its workforce in March, posted weaker-than-expected revenue and earnings in May, and announced an intriguing deal with Aston Martin in June. On second thought, rocky is an understatement.