Lucid Group (LCID 0.71%) debuted on the Nasdaq stock exchange with much fanfare on July 26, 2021 after merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The electric-vehicle (EV) stock jumped by double-digit percentages on the day of listing and hit an all-time high of $57.75 on Nov. 15, 2021. If you'd invested $1,000 in Lucid stock at its closing price on listing day, you'd have more than doubled your money in less than four months.
However, that same $1,000 investment in Lucid stock is worth only a fraction today -- or $89 precisely -- which means investors who bought Lucid stock at its initial public offering (IPO) have seen their wealth erode by over 90%. What went so drastically wrong at such a promising EV start-up that was even called the next Tesla?
Lucid failed, again and again
Lucid set lofty goals in July 2021. It expected to produce 20,000 units of its first product, the Lucid Air sedan, in 2022, and launch the Gravity SUV in 2023. The EV maker failed miserably, producing only 7,180 units in 2022. Gravity SUV was launched in 2024.
Production hiccups, cost overruns, cash burn, recurring outlook downgrades, restructuring, you name it. Everything at Lucid went against investors' expectations since its IPO, and its stock price plummeted 82% in 2022 alone.
NASDAQ: LCID
Key Data Points
With Lucid consistently overpromising and underdelivering, its share price continued falling through 2023 and 2024 and hasn't taken a breather this year, despite its numbers finally showing some signs of life.
What Lucid stock needs to recover
Lucid expects to more than double production in 2025, but that would mean only about 20,000 units -- a number it first aimed for in 2022. Lucid is also looking for a new CEO after Peter Rawlinson recently quit, which adds further uncertainty to the stock.
The only good thing about Lucid is the backing of Saudi Arabia's sovereign public fund, which takes care of funding. Unless Lucid can use that money to scale up production and deliveries, the EV stock may not make you any money.
