Lucid chief executive Peter Rawlinson has suggested that Tesla has become “distracted” and no longer has the “sense of purpose” that it used to.
During a recent interview with BBC’s Wake Up to Money earlier this week, Rawlinson said it’s now up to Lucid to push electric vehicle technologies to new heights. Rawlinson, who once served as the chief engineer for the Model S, didn’t directly mention Elon Musk in the interview but made statements that seem related to him.
Read: Lucid Cutting 6% Of Workforce After Dismal First Quarter
“Tesla was truly at the cutting edge developing the most advanced technology with a clarity of vision and purpose and an absolute singularity of mindset,” he said. “And what I’m seeing now is a worrying trend towards a sort of distraction.”
“There’s an interest in social media, even politics, and it’s kind of losing its way,” he added to the BBC, seemingly referencing Musk’s purchase of Twitter and recent reports he could become a policy advisor if Donald Trump wins this year’s U.S. election. “I don’t see it having that singular sense of purpose, and I think it really falls to Lucid to take the technology to a whole new level now.”
Rawlinson believes Lucid’s technology is “many years ahead” of other car manufacturers, including Tesla. Last year, the firm entered into a long-term strategic partnership to share its advanced electric powertrain technology with Aston Martin. According to recent reports, Genesis could also use Lucid motors in the future.
While Lucid has the technology nailed, it still needs to ramp up deliveries. In 2023, it delivered just 6,001 vehicles and produced 8,428. Production is expected to grow slightly to 9,000 this year, but that’s still not enough to make it a volume player in the EV market.
