- Rawlinson turns into advisor as Lucid delivers Gravity, pivots to extra inexpensive EVs
- CTO of Lucid and mother or father Atieva since 2013, led efficiency-and-performance push
- Oversaw Lucid Air and Gravity, Tesla Mannequin S
Peter Rawlinson is now not the highest government at California’s Lucid Motors.
In a press launch, Lucid stated that Rawlinson “has stepped except for his prior roles,” and can transition to a task as senior technical advisor to the chairman of the board at Lucid, whereas COO Marc Winterhoff has been made interim CEO.
Rawlinson was elevated to the position of CEO at Lucid in 2019, nevertheless it’s the chief technical officer (CTO) position that he doubly held that’s been particularly vital. Because the engineering wizard behind plenty of what has propelled the corporate to its technological preeminence, Rawlinson particularly has established the corporate as able to extracting probably the most miles out of electrical propulsion programs—even versus rival Tesla.
Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson – Arizona plant commissioning
“Now that now we have efficiently launched the Lucid Gravity, I’ve determined it’s lastly the correct time for me to step except for my roles at Lucid,” stated Rawlinson, within the launch. “I’m extremely happy with the accomplishments the Lucid crew have achieved collectively by my tenure of those previous twelve years.”
It has certainly been that lengthy. Rawlinson joined Lucid’s mother or father, Atieva, as chief know-how officer in 2013, and Rawlinson and design chief Derek Jenkins first introduced to a small group, together with yours really, a idea model of the Air in 2016, when Lucid turned the automotive model of Atieva.
Lucid nearly didn’t make it—and may not have with out Rawlinson’s perseverance. Ford thought of shopping for Lucid in 2018, then took a move. Lastly in April 2019, with the completion of an preliminary $1 billion funding from the Saudi Arabian Public Funding Fund, issues bought actual and improvement continued.
Amid Lucid’s cash-strapped hunger period, from 2017 effectively into 2019, Rawlinson stored a core engineering crew and revisited a few of the key tech within the Lucid Air—what he referred to as the core competence of the corporate. That led to the breakthroughs just like the 900+ volt tech and Lucid’s personal permanent-magnet motor design it makes use of right this moment. Within the meantime Lucid had began offering Components E battery packs for the whole racing collection, which added to the corporate’s information base.
The corporate has “initiated a search to determine Lucid’s subsequent Chief Govt Officer,” with assist from an government search agency, in line with the discharge. “The brand new CEO will assist Lucid execute its technique and put together for the subsequent chapter,” it said.
Peter Rawlinson
Rawlinson has held positions at Jaguar and Lotus, amongst different firms, however Inexperienced Automobile Stories first got here to know Rawlinson when he was Tesla’s chief engineer for the Mannequin S, chargeable for its design and manufacturing. Again in 2011, when he was in that position, Rawlinson instructed GCR that he was significantly happy with the Mannequin S battery pack and the way it match electrically and mechanically inside that trailblazer, which might go on to win all types of awards.
The Lucid CEO has managed to rent top-tier expertise on the automaker, together with Tesla’s former manufacturing chief and different high executives from VW, BMW, and Apple, and maintain on to them in a means Tesla hasn’t. He stored Lucid’s braintrust within the California’s Bay Space, nevertheless it opened its Casa Grande, Arizona, manufacturing facility in 2021.
Lucid midsize SUV teaser
The Lucid Air has been Inexperienced Automobile Stories’ Greatest Automobile To Purchase, and though it’s a really massive automotive, the Air Pure stands as America’s most effective EV. It’s now delivering the Lucid Gravity SUV and hopes to greater than double its automobile manufacturing this yr because of having the mannequin within the combine. And three inexpensive EVs, constructed off a brand new mid-size platform and with an excellent lower-cost Atlas drive unit, are due inside a pair years.
For now, Rawlinson and that tech preeminence stay Lucid’s energy; he’s prompt that it’ll take years for the competitors to meet up with Lucid’s effectivity edge, and we expect he’s proper.
