Lucid Motors replaces CFO in sweeping overhaul as sales lag

Lucid Motors has replaced its chief financial officer and hired four new C-suite executives, marking the latest phase of a rapid restructuring under new chief executive Silvio Napoli. The shake-up comes just weeks after the company cut 18 percent of its workforce and eliminated a factory shift at its Arizona plant.

Taoufiq Boussaid is departing and will be succeeded by Alexander De Bock, a former CFO of TI Automotive, following Lucid’s second-quarter earnings report. The company is also bringing in new chiefs for technology, customer experience, digital, and transformation, while eliminating the chief operating officer role entirely.

Napoli is halving the number of executives who report directly to him, a move Lucid says is designed to force closer collaboration at its manufacturing hubs. Three senior leaders, including the senior vice presidents of revenue and marketing, are leaving rather than relocate.

The management upheaval underscores a bleak demand picture for the manufacturer. Lucid delivered 3,953 vehicles in the second quarter, up only slightly from 3,309 a year earlier, while producing 4,774. The figures indicate that the Gravity SUV, positioned as the company’s growth engine, has failed to generate the expected surge in buyer interest.

The contrast with peer Rivian is stark. Rivian delivered 12,194 vehicles in the same period, beat analyst expectations, and raised its full-year delivery forecast to between 65,000 and 70,000 units. While Rivian is scaling up production, Lucid is actively dismantling its manufacturing capacity.

Napoli is gambling on a smaller, roughly $50,000 SUV called the Cosmos, slated for production later this year, to finally crack the mass market. Lucid is also pinning hopes on a luxury robotaxi partnership with Uber and Nuro, currently testing in San Francisco with a potential 2027 expansion to Houston.

“We are simplifying the organization, strengthening leadership, enforcing accountability and aligning our structure with the priorities that matter most: customers, quality, and innovation,” Napoli said. For a company that went public in 2021 and has long struggled to find a large market for its luxury vehicles, executing a pivot to mass-market pricing while simultaneously replacing its senior leadership presents an immense risk in an increasingly hostile environment for electric vehicle sales.