Lucid loses top executive Emad Dlala after 12% workforce cut

Emad Dlala, a Lucid Motors executive with more than a decade at the company, left just months after his promotion, the first major departure under new Chief Executive Officer Silvio Napoli.

"Emad Dlala has elected to leave the company to pursue other opportunities," Lucid said in a statement. "We thank Emad for his many contributions over the years and wish him continued success."

Dlala was elevated in November to oversee all of Engineering and Digital, around the same time the company parted ways with longtime chief engineer Eric Bach. Bach has since sued Lucid for wrongful termination, though the lawsuit was recently stayed pending arbitration. The departure follows a 12% workforce reduction in February and a months-long search for a new CEO after Peter Rawlinson left in early 2025.

The shakeup comes months before Lucid plans to launch its first mass-market vehicle, the Cosmos, priced below $50,000. The model is central to the company's robotaxi partnership with Uber and autonomous vehicle developer Nuro. Lucid shares hit a 52-week low of $8.11 on Wednesday and are down more than 25% year to date.

As part of the restructuring, Vivek Attaluri, vice president of vehicle engineering, and Marc Solsona Palomar, vice president of software, now report directly to Napoli, bypassing the layer Dlala occupied. Napoli joined Lucid in April after spending his career at escalator and elevator company Schindler Group.

The executive churn adds uncertainty to Lucid's turnaround effort. The company has yet to post a profit nearly 19 years after its founding, and it recently completed a $300 million stock offering. Baird cut its price target to $12 from $14, while TD Cowen lowered its target to $10 from $19, both maintaining neutral-equivalent ratings.

Lucid competes with Tesla, Rivian, and legacy automakers in the premium EV segment. Tesla delivered about 1.8 million vehicles globally last year, while Lucid delivered roughly 10,000. The Cosmos, at below $50,000, would directly target Tesla's Model Y and the upcoming Rivian R2, both priced in the mid-$40,000 range. Lucid's differentiation has been its battery technology — the company claims the highest energy density in the industry — but translating that engineering advantage into production scale has remained elusive.

Lucid's Gravity SUV, its current flagship, recently gained hands-free driving assist through a software update. The self-driving version, developed with Nuro, is expected to launch in San Francisco by year-end. But the Cosmos represents Lucid's best chance at volume. Losing a veteran engineer months before that launch raises questions about execution risk at a critical inflection point for the Saudi-owned automaker.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.