Lucid Motors names new CEO, lands more money from Uber and Saudis

Lucid Motors has yet recovered a caller CEO successful long-time concern executive, Silvio Napoli, marking the extremity of a much than year-long hunt pursuing the abrupt resignation of its erstwhile chief, Peter Rawlinson.

The institution connected Tuesday said that Napoli, who has spent the past fewer decades successful assorted enactment positions astatine elevator and escalator institution Schindler Group, volition besides articulation its committee of directors.

Alongside the CEO appointment, Lucid said it has received different $200 cardinal committedness from Uber, which has agreed to bargain an further 25,000 robotaxi-ready versions of Lucid’s upcoming mid-size vehicle. That brings Uber’s full committed investments successful Lucid Motors to $500 million, and its minimum conveyance bid to 35,000.

Finally, Lucid’s bulk owner, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, is purchasing different $550 cardinal of its shares.

The announcements travel during an all-important twelvemonth for Lucid Motors. The institution is presently trying to ramp up accumulation and income of its 2nd model, the Gravity SUV, aft struggling to find a ample marketplace for its Air sedan. Lucid is besides readying connected releasing the archetypal of 3 vehicles built connected its mid-sized platform, which volition let it to people buyers looking to walk astir $50,000 connected a caller car.

The institution has taken pugnacious measures to guarantee it gets that conveyance into production. In February, it decided to lay off 12% of its workforce, TechCrunch reported. On Tuesday, Lucid Motors said successful a regulatory filing that it has precocious “reduced contractor headcount” astatine its Arizona mill “to amended outgo efficiency.”

Lucid Motors has been without a imperishable CEO since February 2025, erstwhile long-time person Rawlinson abruptly near the company. Its main operating officer, Marc Winterhoff, has served arsenic interim CEO since, and had designs connected taking implicit the CEO role, arsenic TechCrunch antecedently reported, portion the institution formed an highly wide nett for a replacement. But Winterhoff’s oversight coincided with multiple quality issues during the rollout of its Gravity SUV.

Napoli volition not commencement arsenic CEO close away. He inactive needs to person “the close to enactment successful the U.S.,” according to a regulatory filing. Until that happens, helium volition beryllium an “executive director” of Lucid Motors’ committee nether a Swiss employment statement (where helium lives). Lucid expects Napoli to person support to enactment successful the U.S. “in the coming weeks,” aft which Winterhoff volition resume his relation arsenic main operating officer.

Napoli stands to marque a batch of wealth arsenic Lucid’s caller CEO. He’s starting with a basal wage of $1.5 million, and is being fixed $1 cardinal to determination to the U.S. He’s besides being awarded a bonus package, a assistance of shares worthy astir $10 million, arsenic good arsenic a performance-based banal bundle that could beryllium worthy tens of millions of dollars.

Uber’s caller committedness comes conscionable a time aft the ride-hail elephantine and its autonomous conveyance spouse Nuro began investigating modified Lucid Gravity SUVs for a luxury robotaxi work launching successful San Francisco aboriginal this year. Uber archetypal partnered up with Lucid Motors and Nuro last July, erstwhile it made a $300 cardinal concern and agreed to bargain astatine slightest 20,000 Gravity SUVs.

Lucid Motors revealed astatine an investor time lawsuit earlier this year that it was adjacent an statement with Uber to marque a akin statement for its much affordable mid-size vehicles. The finalized statement unveiled connected Tuesday appears to offset immoderate of those Gravity SUV orders.

The Saudi concern is the latest successful a agelong enactment of currency injections from the Kingdom into Lucid that started disconnected arsenic a company-saving concern successful 2018.