Lucid Motors names new CEO, lands more money from Uber and Saudis - BERITAJA

Lucid Motors has yet recovered a caller CEO successful long-time business executive, Silvio Napoli, marking the extremity of a much than year-long hunt pursuing the abrupt resignation of its erstwhile chief, Peter Rawlinson.

The institution connected Tuesday said that Napoli, who has spent the past fewer decades successful various activity positions astatine elevator and escalator institution Schindler Group, will besides subordinate its committee of directors.

Alongside the CEO appointment, Lucid said it has received different $200 cardinal committedness from Uber, which has agreed to bargain an further 25,000 robotaxi-ready versions of Lucid’s upcoming mid-size vehicle. That brings Uber’s full committed investments successful Lucid Motors to $500 million, and its minimum conveyance bid to 35,000.

Finally, Lucid’s mostly owner, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, is purchasing different $550 cardinal of its shares.

The announcements travel during an all-important twelvemonth for Lucid Motors. The institution is presently trying to ramp up accumulation and income of its 2nd model, the Gravity SUV, aft struggling to find a ample marketplace for its Air sedan. Lucid is besides readying connected releasing the first of 3 vehicles built connected its mid-sized platform, which will let it to target buyers looking to walk about $50,000 connected a caller car.

The institution has taken reliable measures to guarantee it gets that conveyance into production. In February, it decided to lay off 12% of its workforce, TechCrunch reported. On Tuesday, Lucid Motors said successful a regulatory filing that it has precocious “reduced contractor headcount” astatine its Arizona mill “to amended costs efficiency.”

Lucid Motors has been without a imperishable CEO since February 2025, erstwhile long-time leader Rawlinson abruptly near the company. Its main operating officer, Marc Winterhoff, has served arsenic interim CEO since, and had designs connected taking complete the CEO role, arsenic TechCrunch antecedently reported, while the institution formed an highly wide nett for a replacement. But Winterhoff’s oversight coincided pinch multiple quality issues during the rollout of its Gravity SUV.

Napoli will not commencement arsenic CEO correct away. He still needs to person “the correct to activity successful the U.S.,” according to a regulatory filing. Until that happens, he will beryllium an “executive director” of Lucid Motors’ committee nether a Swiss employment statement (where he lives). Lucid expects Napoli to person support to activity successful the U.S. “in the coming weeks,” aft which Winterhoff will resume his domiciled arsenic main operating officer.

Napoli stands to make a batch of money arsenic Lucid’s caller CEO. He’s starting pinch a guidelines net of $1.5 million, and is being fixed $1 cardinal to move to the U.S. He’s besides being awarded a prize package, a assistance of shares worthy about $10 million, arsenic good arsenic a performance-based banal package that could beryllium worthy tens of millions of dollars.

Uber’s caller committedness comes conscionable a time aft the ride-hail elephantine and its autonomous conveyance partner Nuro began testing modified Lucid Gravity SUVs for a luxury robotaxi work launching successful San Francisco later this year. Uber first collaborated up pinch Lucid Motors and Nuro last July, erstwhile it made a $300 cardinal finance and agreed to bargain astatine slightest 20,000 Gravity SUVs.

Lucid Motors revealed astatine an investor time arena earlier this year that it was adjacent an statement pinch Uber to make a akin statement for its much affordable mid-size vehicles. The finalized statement unveiled connected Tuesday appears to offset immoderate of those Gravity SUV orders.

The Saudi finance is the latest successful a agelong statement of rate injections from the Kingdom into Lucid that started disconnected arsenic a company-saving finance successful 2018.