Lucid is making some modifications. The posh EV firm mentioned Tuesday that it was expanding its robotaxi deal with Uber — and nabbing some extra funding money within the course of. And it’s naming a brand new CEO who hails not from the world of electrical automobiles, however from an organization that manufactures a unique form of mobility machine: elevators, escalators, and shifting walkways.
First, Lucid mentioned that Uber is rising the variety of Lucid Gravity SUVs it’s buying, from 20,000 to 35,000, for its robotaxi fleet. For those who’ll recall, final yr, Lucid, Uber, and autonomous supply startup Nuro announced a massive robotaxi deal that will see the deployment of 1000’s of autonomous automobiles within the US over the subsequent six years. The fleet will likely be owned by Uber or a third-party fleet administration companion. And the primary service will likely be launched in San Francisco.
Uber can also be chipping in more cash for Lucid by including $200 million to the $300 million it already delivered final yr. Uber has additionally invested tons of of thousands and thousands of {dollars} in Nuro, which is creating the self-driving methods for the robotaxis. And Lucid is netting one other $500 million from an affiliate of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, which already holds a controlling stake within the firm.
And as if that’s not sufficient, Lucid is naming a new CEO: Silvio Napoli, a Swiss-Italian govt who spent greater than three a long time operating one of many world’s largest elevator and escalator firms. Napoli is presently based mostly in Switzerland, however plans on relocating to the US, Lucid says.
The appointment ends the 14 month seek for the everlasting alternative to Peter Rawlinson, who stepped down in February of last year. Chief working officer Marc Winterhoff stepped into the roll whereas a search was underway. Rawlinson had helped discovered the corporate after serving for a number of years as chief engineer of the Tesla Mannequin S.
