GoKawiilLucid Motors has finally found a new CEO in long-time industrial executive, Silvio Napoli, marking the end of a more than year-long search following the sudden resignation of its former chief, Peter Rawlinson.
The company on Tuesday said that Napoli, who has spent the last few decades in various leadership positions at elevator and escalator company Schindler Group, will also join its board of directors.
Alongside the CEO appointment, Lucid said it has received another $200 million commitment from Uber, which has agreed to buy an additional 25,000 robotaxi-ready versions of Lucid’s upcoming mid-size vehicle. That brings Uber’s total committed investments in Lucid Motors to $500 million, and its minimum vehicle order to 35,000.
Finally, Lucid’s majority owner, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, is purchasing another $550 million of its shares.
The announcements come during an all-important year for Lucid Motors. The company is currently trying to ramp up production and sales of its second model, the Gravity SUV, after struggling to find a large market for its Air sedan. Lucid is also planning on releasing the first of three vehicles built on its mid-sized platform, which will allow it to target buyers looking to spend around $50,000 on a new car.
The company has taken tough measures to ensure it gets that vehicle into production. In February, it decided to lay off 12% of its workforce, TechCrunch reported. On Tuesday, Lucid Motors said in a regulatory filing that it has recently “reduced contractor headcount” at its Arizona factory “to improve cost efficiency.”
Lucid Motors has been without a permanent CEO since February 2025, when long-time leader Rawlinson suddenly left the company. Its chief operating officer, Marc Winterhoff, has served as interim CEO since, and had designs on taking over the CEO role, as TechCrunch previously reported, while the company cast an extremely wide net for a replacement. But Winterhoff’s oversight coincided with multiple quality issues during the rollout of its Gravity SUV.
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