Lucid CEO Admits Company Fell Short as Midsize EV Launch Is Delayed

Lucid Motors CEO Silvio Napoli delivered a candid assessment of the electric vehicle maker’s recent performance during the company’s latest earnings call, acknowledging years of execution problems while outlining a new product development strategy.

The comments came as Lucid reported a quarterly net loss of more than $1 billion and confirmed that its upcoming midsize electric vehicle has been pushed back to the second half of 2027.

New leadership promises stronger product development

Napoli, who became Lucid’s chief executive in June, said the automaker had struggled to consistently deliver on its commitments, according to Insider.

“We have not executed consistently,” he said during the earnings call. “We missed commitments, launched products before they were ready, under-invested in service, responded too slowly to quality issues, and allowed complexity to slow decisions down.”

Lucid currently sells the Air luxury sedan and the Gravity three-row SUV. The company said it is changing the way it develops future vehicles by introducing new quality checkpoints before production begins.

According to Lucid, its upcoming midsize model, known as Cosmos, will not launch until every production and quality requirement has been met.

The vehicle is now expected to enter production in the second half of 2027 rather than this year.

Company continues broader turnaround effort

Lucid said Cosmos prototypes are currently undergoing crash testing, aerodynamic development, cold-weather evaluation, and battery and drive-unit testing, with additional validation work still to come before production.

The delay gives competitors additional time to strengthen their positions in the midsize electric SUV segment as Rivian has already begun delivering the R2 and Tesla recently introduced the three-row Model Y L in the United States.

Napoli said Lucid is also working through a broader transformation after a series of organizational changes this year. The company has reduced its workforce, reorganized its leadership team, and reiterated that it ended the quarter with approximately $3 billion in total liquidity.

“We have a clear understanding of the key issues,” Napoli said. “A deep transformation is in motion at Lucid.”

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