Lucid CEO Criticizes Rivals For 'Disservice' To Customers With 'Premature' Reservation Lists, Says Will Open Gravity Bookings At 'Appropriate Time'

Lucid Group LCID CEO Peter Rawlinson on Monday refused to give a date for opening reservations of its upcoming Gravity SUV, while also criticizing rival auto companies for ‘prematurely’ opening a reservation list.

What Happened: Rawlinson said that the company will open reservations for Gravity at “an appropriate time,” without providing a more determinate timeline.

“What we feel is that some companies have really done their customer base a disservice by prematurely opening a reservation list. It becomes very speculative and almost meaningless to a certain degree,” Rawlinson said during the company’s second-quarter earnings call.

The company is thinking of opening a pre-order list in the future when it is in a position to do so, the CEO added.

The Gravity SUV was unveiled in November and is expected to start under $80,000, a price point close to Tesla's premium Model X SUV which now starts at about $79,990. The company is expected to start production of Gravity later this year.

Why It Matters: Rawlinson was referring to companies opening reservations years before the product enters production as in the case of Tesla Inc.’s Cybertruck.

Tesla accepted reservations for the stainless steel Cybertruck starting in 2019. The vehicle was originally slated to start production in late 2021 but the timeline was pushed several times. The company eventually commenced deliveries only in November 2023.

During Tesla’s third-quarter earnings call in October, a month before the Cybertruck's delivery event, Musk had said that over a million people had already reserved the vehicle. Third-party estimates for Cybertruck reservations are almost double the official numbers.

However, not all on the reservation list have gotten their truck even to date. According to Kelley Blue Book estimates, Tesla sold 8,755 Cybertrucks in the second quarter in the U.S., and just 2,803 in the first quarter. 

Tesla also allows interested customers to reserve its next-generation Roadster. The new generation Roadster prototype was showcased at the end of the event dedicated to unveiling the Tesla Semi on November 16, 2017. The vehicle, Tesla then said, would be available starting in 2020 priced around $200,000.

However, the production timeline has been pushed several times since and the company now expects to start production only in 2025.

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Photo courtesy: Lucid