Electric car maker Lucid unveils plans for robotaxis and positive free cash flow

NEW YORK — Lucid Group expects to be cash flow positive late this decade as it plans to grow its vehicle lineup and significantly increase its software and technology offerings, the all-electric automaker announced Thursday during its first investor day in nearly five years as a public company.

The electric car company aims to achieve positive cash flow generation through market expansion to include medium-sized cars and automated taxis, in addition to international expansion in markets such as Europe and Saudi Arabia. It also expects efficiency gains and software revenue growth through the introduction of improved advanced driver assistance systems and Lucid’s new artificial intelligence assistant, executives told dozens of investors and Wall Street analysts on Thursday.

Lucid stock closed Thursday at $9.84, down 7.9%. Shares were down roughly 6% to 8% during much of the event despite the company presenting its most detailed product and expansion plans yet, highlighting the challenging market conditions for electric vehicle companies.

“We view the mid-term and late-decade targets as an important benchmark by which investors can measure LCID progress which will lead to improved transparency,” Baird analyst Ben Callow said in an investment note Thursday. “The near-term backdrop for EVs remains challenging with headwinds such as tariffs and policy dampening investor sentiment.”

Lucid’s cash flow target is challenging given the automaker’s current performance and declining demand for electric vehicles in the United States. While Lucid was able to grow sales and trim losses, the company lost $2.7 billion on revenue of $1.35 billion in 2025. It had negative free cash flow of $3.8 billion in 2025, a loss that was roughly 31% larger than the previous year.

Lucid’s interim CEO Mark Winterhoff — who unexpectedly took over for company founder Peter Rawlinson last year — said the company’s “north star” is “accelerating toward profitability,” reiterating the theme of the investor event. He and other executives declined to disclose the exact year the company aims to be cash flow positive.

The automaker is trying to increase investor interest in the company as it prepares to launch a new mid-sized car at the end of this year. Its largest shareholder, the Public Investment Fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, also changed its investment strategy in the company from capital investment to revolving credit.

Lucid said Thursday that it expects to generate nearly $1 billion in additional annual non-vehicle revenue through services such as recurring software subscriptions by later this decade. It also previewed plans for a two-seat robotaxi, including one with a modular design, but did not specify a time frame for the vehicle.

Winterhoff told CNBC after the event that a customized robotaxi is a “medium-term” goal for the company in the coming years.

Company executives spent much of the event discussing Lucid’s upcoming driving technologies, including robotaxis, and plans to launch a subscription service by early 2027 that will range from $69 to $199 per month, based on capabilities.

“Autonomy plays an external role in Lucid’s future,” said Kay Steber, Lucid’s vice president of advanced driving systems, adding that the company plans to offer cars capable of driving themselves under certain conditions by 2029.

Winterhoff and Uber President and Chief Operating Officer Andrew McDonald announced Thursday that they plan to expand the previously announced robotaxi partnership to include upcoming mid-sized vehicles.

The expansion into midsize and autonomous driving is expected to significantly increase Lucid’s total addressable market, or TAM, from $40 billion for its current Air sedan and Gravity SUV to $700 billion, executives said Thursday.

Winterhoff said he sees the company’s self-driving technologies essentially growing to match Tesla’s existing FSD system by next year.

Lucid said Thursday that it plans to produce three medium-sized vehicles, starting with a vehicle called Cosmos this year, followed by a model called Earth about a year later and an unnamed vehicle within an unspecified time frame after that.

“We believe these three unique products will give us the maximum opportunity to reach the widest possible audience,” said Derek Jenkins, senior vice president of design and brand at Lucid. “This audience is who we are today, but it is a different audience than our current market.”

A preview of the Cosmos shown to event attendees on Thursday featured a more aggressive look with slimmer headlights and a silhouette reminiscent of the automaker’s current Gravity SUV but in smaller packages. The interior of the car continues Lucid’s focus on a spacious cabin with plenty of storage space and a large, one-piece screen that crosses most of the car’s front dashboard.

The three mid-size vehicles are aimed at affluent buyers, “discerning” young people and outdoor enthusiasts, Jenkins said. The latter will be a direct competitor to its fellow electric car competitor Rivian Carswhich is expected to launch a new midsize R2 this spring, starting with a roughly $58,000 version of the car.

Lucid said the price of its mid-sized car is expected to start at about $50,000. This would put it in line with average transaction prices for new vehicles in the US as well as Rivian’s R2 entry-level models.

Both Rivian and Lucid are trying to reassure investors that they can not only compete in the turbulent electric vehicle market, but thrive by expanding into new vehicles and technologies to better compete with the leading U.S. electric vehicle company. Tesla. Lucid said its new midsize electric platform will be class-leading in efficiency, something the company has strived to do with all of its vehicles.

Both have been touted as having enough capital to implement near-term initiatives, but their long-term viability remains a key question for investors.

Lucid said its total liquidity of $5.5 billion, including a nearly $2 billion deferred-draw loan credit facility from the Saudi Public Investment Fund, is sufficient for the first half of 2027.

Rivian ended the fourth quarter with $6.59 billion in total cash, including nearly $6.1 billion in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, as the company tries to ramp up production of its midsize vehicle and new self-driving technologies this year.

– CNBC Michael Bloom She contributed to this report.