Lucid sells more robotaxis to Uber, hires new CEO

Lucid is making some changes. The luxury electric vehicle company said Tuesday it is Expanding its robotaxi deal With Uber – and get some extra investment money in the process. It’s naming a new CEO who comes not from the world of electric cars, but from a company that makes a different kind of mobility device: elevators, escalators, and moving walkways.

First, Lucid said Uber is increasing the number of Lucid Gravity SUVs it is purchasing, from 20,000 to 35,000, for its robotaxi fleet. If you remember, last year, Lucid, Uber, and independent delivery company Nuro Announced a huge robotaxi deal This would see thousands of self-driving vehicles deployed in the US over the next six years. The fleet will be owned by Uber or a third-party fleet management partner. The first service will be launched in San Francisco.

Uber is also raising more money for Lucid by adding $200 million to the $300 million it already raised last year. Uber has also invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Nuro, which is developing self-driving systems for robotaxis. Lucid is getting another $500 million from an affiliate of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, which already owns a controlling stake in the company.

As if this is not enough, Lucid is hiring a new CEO: Silvio Napoli, a Swiss-Italian executive who spent more than three decades running one of the largest elevator and escalator companies in the world. Lucid says Naples is currently based in Switzerland, but plans to move to the United States.

The appointment ends a 14-month search for a permanent replacement for Peter Rawlinson, who… He resigned in February last year. Chief Operating Officer Mark Winterhoff came up on the list while conducting the search. Rawlinson helped found the company after serving for several years as chief engineer of the Tesla Model S.