The automaker has just started accepting preorders for its new ‘Gravity’ SUV model
Luxury electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Lucid Group (NASDAQ:LCID) delighted investors Thursday afternoon, exceeding Wall Street’s earnings forecast despite losing money in Q3 2024.
Though the automaker’s quarterly revenue, EPS and adjusted EBITDA is comfortably dwarfed by market leader Tesla, Lucid reported revenue of $200 million and an adjusted earnings loss of $0.28 per share. These results beat the analysts’ consensus estimate of $196.3 million in revenue and a loss of $0.31 per share.
Lucid Group stock enjoyed positive momentum in response, up 3.5% in Friday pre-market trading.
For the third quarter, Lucid produced 1,805 vehicles, with the company stating that it’s on track to achieve its production target of 9,000 vehicles for 2024. Interestingly, Lucid Group delivered 2,781 vehicles in Q3, which is substantially greater than the automaker’s quarterly production number.
In addition, Lucid Group disclosed an adjusted EBITDA loss of $613.1 million. This might not sound like a stellar result, but it beat Wall Street’s consensus estimate of an adjusted EBITDA loss of $634.4 million.
This event comes at a crucial time for Lucid because the company just started accepting reservations for its new Gravity SUV model, which the automaker claims is on track to commence production this year.
High hopes for the Gravity SUV
Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson expressed his excitement for the new model, arguing that “the total addressable market for Gravity is six times that of Lucid Air”.
Rawlinson expects Lucid Group’s Arizona-based production plant to eventually be able to build 90,000 Gravity SUVs per year.
In the U.S., the Gravity SUV is anticipated to start at around $80,000, so it should be eligible for a federal EV tax credit. Going forward, Lucid Group must prove to investors that it can meet its Gravity SUV production targets while improving its financials.
