Shares of high-end electric vehicle (EV) maker Lucid Group (LCID 0.41%) were sliding today after investors seemed unimpressed with the company's third-quarter production report.
As of 10:18 a.m. ET, the stock was down 3.3% after falling as much as 7.2% just after the open.
Image source: Lucid.
Lucid's check engine light turns on
The EV maker said it produced 1,550 vehicles during the third quarter, down substantially from its second-quarter total of 2,173. Meanwhile, it delivered 1,457 vehicles in the quarter, just a slight increase from the 1,404 it delivered in the second quarter.
Management did not provide any commentary on the numbers but said it had an additional 700 vehicles in transit to Saudi Arabia for final assembly, meaning they're nearly finished. The Saudi Public Investment Fund owns 60% of Lucid, and Lucid just opened its first manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia.
Lucid has formed a close strategic partnership with the Saudi Arabian government, which has made a commitment to buy 50,000 vehicles from Lucid with an option to purchase another 50,000.
Is Lucid headed for the breakdown lane?
The third-quarter numbers make it unlikely that Lucid will reach its goal of producing 10,000 vehicles this year. The EV maker has struggled as a publicly traded company thus far as production has been slow to scale and there are legitimate questions about demand for its high-priced vehicles.
Production outpaced demand by more than 700 cars in the third quarter and the numbers indicate that the company is now sitting on even more unsold inventory. There are also legitimate questions about its cash burn rate as it will have to ramp up its production significantly to turn profitable.
Lucid stock is already down sharply over the past year and trading near all-time lows. Investors will learn more when its full third-quarter earnings report comes out on Nov. 7, but the preliminary third-quarter update is not encouraging for the pure-play EV stock.
