Lucid Motors has withdrawn its production guidance for 2026, saying it can no longer predict how many EVs it will build or sell this year. The announcement came during the company’s first-quarter earnings call on Tuesday, where CFO Taoufiq Boussaid described the move as a “governance decision” tied to the transition to incoming CEO Silvio Napoli, who is conducting a full business review.
What changed
In February, Lucid had projected building between 25,000 and 27,000 vehicles this year — a significant increase from the roughly 18,000 it built in 2025, though far below the hundreds of thousands it had originally forecast when it went public in 2021. That guidance is now gone. Boussaid said the company expects to provide a “full updated outlook” during the second-quarter earnings call later this year.
Why guidance was pulled
Lucid cited two immediate problems. First, a 29-day production disruption and a temporary stop-sale caused by issues with a seat supplier inflated inventory beyond what the company considers healthy. “We are not constrained on capacity. We are constrained by our own discipline not to build inventory ahead of demand,” Boussaid said. Second, the company is in the middle of a cost-cutting push that included laying off 12% of its workforce in February. Those layoffs will cost Lucid roughly $40 million in the near term, but the company believes they will save as much as $500 million over the next few years.
Upcoming products
Despite the uncertainty, Lucid confirmed it remains on track to start production of its first high-volume vehicle — a mid-size EV priced under $50,000 — by the end of 2026, with a production ramp-up planned for 2027. The company also said it is still on schedule to begin building road-ready autonomous versions of its Gravity SUV in the fourth quarter, which will be used for a robotaxi service with Uber and Nuro.
Bottom line
Lucid’s decision to abandon its 2026 production target reflects a broader tension between scaling up and managing costs. The company is betting that a new CEO, tighter inventory discipline, and a lower-priced model will stabilize its trajectory — but for now, it is operating without a clear annual target.