Investing

Lucid Dragged Lower by Tesla

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: April 9, 2024 6:50 am

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock has dropped by 30% this year because of slow sales and a difficult market. It could gain that back, or more, because of what could be the world’s most advanced autonomous driving vehicle. The proof could come when Tesla releases its “robotaxi” in August. Several other electric vehicle (EV) stocks have been dragged down by Tesla’s sell-off. They do not have new features to drive a surge in customers. With their revenue and lack of growth, they won’t recover. At the top of that list is Lucid Group Inc. (NASDAQ: LCID), the shares of which are down 55% since the first of the year to $2.64.

Lucid’s shares should have surged when it got an infusion of $1 billion. Ayar Third Investment Company, part of the Public Investment Fund, said it would purchase $1.0 billion of a newly created series of convertible preferred stock via private placement,

Lucid’s results from last year were ugly. Revenue dropped 2% to $595. The company lost $2.8 billion, so the new investment may not last very long. (Check out this Lucid stock price prediction for 2030: bull, base, and bear forecasts.)

Lucid cannot survive the headwinds that have hit the EV market. Americans have shown a preference for hybrids, at least for now. Lucid does not have the capital or products to pivot in a direction that might save it. The drought in EV sales could last more than a few months.

Even if the EV market were healthy, it has become increasingly crowded. Chinese companies like BYD have production cost advantages and sell cars for under $15,000. Major car manufacturers, from General Motors to Volkswagen, have put billions of dollars into EVs. They have retreated from their plans but are at least able to restart their EV production. Lucid is not.