Lucid takes aim at Tesla with fully autonomous robotaxi concept
In its first investor day in five years, Lucid Group, Inc. (LCID) announced a strategy to reach profitably by growing its vehicle lineup, ramping up its software and technology offerings and expanding into new international markets.
At the event, which was held in New York on Thursday, Lucid also introduced Lunar, a two-seat robotaxi concept that will be designed without a steering wheel or pedals.
Although still only in its concept phase, the planned fully autonomous robotaxi is significant because it is taking aim at Tesla's Cybercab, which is also being built without a steering wheel or pedals.
Tesla rolled the first Cybercab off its production line in Austin, Texas last month and has said that it plans to begin mass producing the vehicle in April - although Elon Musk has been known to overpromise on production timelines.
But Musk said the Cybercab would cost less than $30,000 and will be sold to both everyday drivers and taxi fleet operators. Musk sees the Cybercab as being crucial to Tesla's future, as it moves away from the traditional EV market and focuses on artificial intelligence, robotics and fully autonomous vehicles.
Lucid said that Lunar would have 40% lower operating cost and would have an efficiency figure of about 5.5. miles per kilowatt hour. It did not reveal any details about a production timeline or pricing.
The company is also planning to launch its first midsize vehicle later this year that it sees as expanding its total addressable market (TAM) because it will have a starting price below $50,000. It is slated to eventually launch three different models of its midsize EV.
"With Midsize, we didn't compromise what makes a Lucid special, we engineered it to scale," Derek Jenkins, senior vice president of design and brand at Lucid, said in a statement. "These vehicles deliver unmistakable Lucid design and driving characteristics, while embracing a radically simpler, more efficient approach to manufacturing and cost."
Lucid lays out plan for profitability
Lucid also emphasized its strategy for putting the company on a path toward profitability and free cash flow, which has become much more challenging as the EV market has begun to contract. This is especially true in the United States after the Trump administration ended the Biden-era tax credits for consumers last year that made buying an electric vehicle more affordable.
The company has been increasing sales and narrowing losses, but it still reported $2.7 billion in losses, versus $1.35 billion in revenue in 2025.
Like Tesla and Rivian Automotive, Inc. (RIVN) have done, Lucid said on Thursday that it will launch a subscription service for its self-driving technology that will cost between $69 and $199 depending on the level of autonomous driving capability the customer chooses.
The service is expected to be rolled out in 2027.
Lucid said that it is forecasting about $1 billion in annual incremental, non-vehicle revenue by later this decade through services like its recurring software subscriptions.
"Lucid has already proven its capabilities through technology and product leadership," Lucid interim CEO Marc Winterhoff said in a statement.
"Today, we're keeping the same Lucid product and technology DNA intact, while applying increased scale, capital efficiency, and cost discipline, and materially reduced costs, to enable a great business with a clear and credible path to profitability and free cash flow, supported by what we are executing now and what we are building for the future."
The company also said it is finalizing its agreement with Uber Technologies (UBER) for the previously announced new robotaxi the two companies will be launching together.
Despite all the new announcements, Lucid's shares nonetheless fell nearly 8% on Thursday.