Jim Cramer Talks EVs With Lucid CEO
The automotive world is abuzz about electric car maker Lucid Group (LCID) – Get Lucid Group, Inc. Report, which received the Motor Trend Car of the Year award this month, the first time an automaker’s first vehicle has been given that honor. The news of the Motor Trend award pushed the stock further upward. The stock was already up more than 130% over the last six months.
Rivian (RIVN) – Get Rivian Automotive, Inc. Class A Report, Tesla (TSLA) – Get Tesla Inc Report and Lucid are the pure electric car company leaders in a market that also features most of the existing automobile manufacturers. Dozens of companies are now making electric cars, similar to the early days of the automobile, when more than 50 American companies made gasoline, diesel, electric and even steam-powered cars. That number fell to less than 10 after World War II and eventually to the “Big Three,” GM (GM) – Get General Motors Company Report, Chrysler and Ford (F) – Get Ford Motor Company Report. Many people wonder what the limits on the electric car market will be in number of companies and number of cars sold.
Can Lucid keep it up its amazing start and move to becoming a major manufacturer?
Peter Rawlinson, CFO and CEO told Jim Cramer on a recent episode of “Mad Money” that the company’s first vehicle, the Air, currently has over 17,000 reservations and the Edition R has an EPA-certified range of 520 miles, the longest range of any electric vehicle. The Air’s base price is $77,400.
Real Money’s Kevin Curran recently reviewed the state of play in the electric vehicle market where at least some observers see gross overvaluations developing..
Lucid designs and manufactures 100% of its vehicles in house. Rawlinson noted that they are alone with Tesla in that regard.
Rawlinson said Lucid exists to help save the environment. He said we can’t keep burning fossil fuels and they have to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles as quickly as possible.
Lucid’s current production line in Arizona is tooled for 34,000 units a year. Rawlinson said once the facility is fully expanded, it will quickly support up to 400,000 vehicles a year.
When asked about their stock’s valuation, Rawlinson noted that Lucid should be valued as a technology company and not an automaker. Once known as Atieva, Lucid is headquartered in Newark, California. Lucid’s other divisions include energy storage, and original equipment manufacturing. The company was founded in 2007
