Lucid Motors appoints a new CEO and gets more money from Uber and the Saudis

Lucid Motors has finally found a new chief executive in long-time industrial executive Silvio Napoli, marking the end of a search that lasted more than a year following the shock resignation of its former boss Peter Rawlinson.

Napoli, who has spent the past few decades in various leadership positions at elevator and escalator company Schindler Group, will also join its board, the company said Tuesday.

Along with 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-sized vehicle. This brings Uber’s total committed investment in Lucid Motors to $500 million, and its minimum vehicle orders to 35,000.

Finally, Lucid’s majority owner, the Saudi Public Investment Fund, is buying another $550 million of its shares.

These announcements come during a very important year for Lucid Motors. The company is currently trying to increase production and sales of its second model, the Gravity SUV, after struggling to find a large market for its aero sedan. Lucid also plans to launch the first three vehicles built on its midsize platform, which will allow it to target buyers looking to spend around $50,000 on a new car.

The company has taken strict measures to ensure that this car enters the production stage. In February I decided to do so Demobilization TechCrunch reported that 12% of its workforce. On Tuesday, Lucid Motors said in a regulatory filing that it recently “reduced the number of contractor employees” at its Arizona plant to “improve cost efficiencies.”

Lucid Motors has been without a permanent CEO since February 2025, when leader Rawlinson abruptly left the company. Chief Operating Officer Mark Winterhoff has served as interim CEO since then, and had plans to take on the CEO role. I mentioned TechCrunch previouslywhile the company cast a very wide net for the replacement. But Winterhof’s supervision coincided with numerous quality Problems during the launch of the Gravity SUV.

Napoli will not start as CEO immediately. He still needs to obtain “the right to work in the United States,” according to a regulatory filing. Until that happens, he will be the “CEO” of the Lucid Motors Board of Directors under the Swiss Employment Agreement (where he lives). Lucid expects Naples to receive permission to operate in the United States “in the coming weeks,” after which Winterhoff will resume his role as chief operating officer.

Napoli is expected to make a lot of money as the new CEO of Lucid. He started with a base salary of $1.5 million and earned $1 million to move to the United States. He also received a bonus package, a stock grant worth approximately $10 million, as well as a performance-based stock package that could be worth tens of millions of dollars.

Uber’s new commitment comes just one day after the ride-hailing giant and its self-driving car partner Nuro I started testing a modified Lucid Gravity SUV To launch a luxury robotaxi service in San Francisco later this year. Uber initially partnered with Lucid Motors and Nuro Last JulyWhen it invested $300 million and agreed to buy at least 20,000 Gravity SUVs.

Lucid Motors revealed in An Investor Day event occurred earlier this year It was close to reaching an agreement with Uber to make a similar arrangement for its affordable mid-sized vehicles. The final agreement unveiled Tuesday appears to offset some of the Gravity SUV orders.

The Saudi investment is the latest in a long line of cash infusions from the Kingdom into Lucid that began as a saving investment for the company in 2018.