I respect Elon but I disagree with him on his claim.
Lucid is in the beginning stage of where Tesla was years ago. Except they already have a much superior product. It's true that a lot of people can't afford a Lucid, but other luxury car brands also survive just fine - there is a market for all price segments. Also, Lucid Air Pure is actually cheaper than Model S Plaid. Lastly, Gravity SUV and Lucid's model Y variant will be extremely competitive even if they are placed at higher price levels. These are the vehicles that are popular in the US regardless of price segmentation.
Elon said his biggest competition is not another EV company, it's Saudi Aramco. Guess who owns major share of Lucid and Saudi Aramco?
Of course Elon wants to bash company owned by his biggest competitor. Is it likely that Lucid will go BANKRUPT? HIGHLY Doubt it.
It's highly unlikely that Saudi Arabia will stop making sure Lucid succeed at all cost. Things seemed to have gone sour between Saudi and Elon when PIF sold out all of their investment in Tesla and invrst in Lucid instead.
Saudi is investing in Lucid for their future beyond Oil. The only way Lucid can go bankrupt is the combination of following conditions:
1. Lucid ran out of cash
2. Lucid is unable to make cars people want to buy - their demand cannot keep up with supply
3. PIF found another future beyond Oil for their economy that is exponentially more sustainable than EVs and no longer wants to have any investment in the sector
4. Lucid cannot secure enough financing from anyone else to keep operating
5. Lucid is unable to pivot, make adjustments, and innovate to sustain
Lucid Air has won car of the year from multiple prestigious organizations. It has not just longest range and fancy interiors, it also drives like a sports car. On top of Air Pure, we are expected to see even more models that are targeting lower price segments.
As time goes on, Lucid will continue to evolve and their technology. Their design philosophy is some of the best in the industry. Can there be improvements? Of course - like any other company. I believe Lucid understands this. They seem to be constantly trying to do the best they can to make every inch of their vehicle design as well designed as possible.
Elon's criticisms are relevant, but for Lucid to go bankrupt, it will require a perfectstorm. For all those scenarios to align, it is very unlikely.$Lucid Group Inc(LCID)$