Lucid's Interim CEO Clarifies On Peter Rawlinson's Earlier Statement: 'Doesn't Mean We Are Deprioritizing Our Automotive Car Business'

Lucid Group Inc.’s (NASDAQ:LCID) interim CEO Marc Winterhoff on Tuesday refuted reports that the company is looking to make its car business merely a side hustle in the future.

What Happened: Winterhoff said during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call on Tuesday that a statement by the company’s former CEO Peter Rawlinson about being a mostly tech company was “a bit taken out of context.”

“I want to stress that it doesn’t mean we are deprioritizing our automotive car business,” Winterhoff said. “Quite the opposite is the fact.”

Winterhoff said that the company sees ample opportunity to leverage its technology but it does not mean that the car business is merely going to be a side business for the company.

Why It Matters: Winterhoff’s clarification comes on the heels of an interview given by Rawlinson earlier this month. Rawlinson said in the interview with InsideEVs that he would prefer 20% of Lucid's future business to be about making cars and the remaining 80% about licensing. 

"Because the vision I have for Lucid is: Just as there’s an Intel inside your laptop, there’s a Lucid inside a Honda or a Toyota," he reportedly said without specifying a timeline for when he envisions it. However, Rawlinson also clarified that this is merely his vision for the company and there is no guarantee that it will happen.

Lucid already has a customer for its tech. British carmaker Aston Martin signed a deal with Lucid in 2023 for technology including electric powertrains and battery systems. However, Aston Martin is yet to launch a battery electric car.

The company is in talks with partners for deals regarding its Zeus powertrain which it expects to close soon, Winterhoff said on Tuesday, without elaborating on details.

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