Lucid Motors names new CEO, lands more money from Uber and Saudis

The first StrictlyVC of 2026 hits San Francisco. Tickets are going fast. Register now. Save up to $680 on your Disrupt 2026 pass. Ends 11:59 p.m. PT tonight. REGISTER NOW. TechCrunch Desktop Logo TechCrunch Mobile Logo LatestStartupsVentureAppleSecurityAIApps EventsPodcastsNewsletters SearchSubmit Site Search Toggle Mega Menu Toggle Topics Latest Lucid Motors names new CEO, lands more money from Uber and Saudis Sean O'Kane 5:22 AM PDT · April 14, 2026 Lucid Motors has finally found a new CEO in long-time industrial executive, Silvio Napoli, marking the end of a more than year-long search following the sudden resignation of its former chief, Peter Rawlinson. The company on Tuesday said that Napoli, who has spent the last few decades in various leadership positions at elevator and escalator company Schindler Group, will also join its board of directors. Alongside the CEO appointment, Lucid said it has received another $200 million commitment from Uber, which has agreed to buy an additional 25,000 robotaxi-ready versions of Lucid’s upcoming mid-size vehicle. That brings Uber’s total committed investments in Lucid Motors to $500 million, and its minimum vehicle order to 35,000. Finally, Lucid’s majority owner, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, is purchasing another $550 million of its shares. The announcements come during an all-important year for Lucid Motors. The company is currently trying to ramp up production and sales of its second model, the Gravity SUV, after struggling to find a large market for its Air sedan. Lucid is also planning on releasing the first of three vehicles built on its mid-sized platform, which will allow it to target buyers looking to spend around $50,000 on a new car. The company has taken tough measures to ensure it gets that vehicle into production. In February, it decided to lay off 12% of its workforce, TechCrunch reported. On Tuesday, Lucid Motors said in a regulatory filing that it has recently “reduced contractor headcount” at its Arizona factory “to improve cost efficiency.” Lucid Motors has been without a permanent CEO since February 2025, when long-time leader Rawlinson suddenly left the company. Its chief operating officer, Marc Winterhoff, has served as interim CEO since, and had designs on taking over the CEO role, as TechCrunch previously reported, while the company cast an extremely wide net for a replacement. But Winterhoff’s oversight coincided with multiple quality issues during the rollout of its Gravity SUV. Techcrunch event Meet your next investor or portfolio startup at Disrupt Your next round. Your next hire. Your next breakout opportunity. Find it at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, where 10,000+ founders, investors, and tech leaders gather for three days of 250+ tactical sessions, powerful introductions, and market-defining innovation. Register now to save up to $410. Meet your next investor or portfolio startup at Disrupt Your next round. Your next hire. Your next breakout opportunity. Find it at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, where 10,000+ founders, investors, and tech leaders gather for three days of 250+ tactical sessions, powerful introductions, and market-defining innovation. Register now to save up to $410. San Francisco, CA | October 13-15, 2026 REGISTER NOW Napoli will not start as CEO right away. He still needs to receive “the right to work in the U.S.,” according to a regulatory filing. Until that happens, he will be an “executive director” of Lucid Motors’ board under a Swiss employment agreement (where he lives). Lucid expects Napoli to receive permission to work in the U.S. “in the coming weeks,” after which Winterhoff will resume his role as chief operating officer. Napoli stands to make a lot of money as Lucid’s new CEO. He’s starting with a base salary of $1.5 million, and is being given $1 million to move to the U.S. He’s also being awarded a bonus package, a grant of shares worth nearly $10 million, as well as a performance-based stock package that could be worth tens of millions of dollars. Uber’s new commitment comes just a day after the ride-hail giant and its autonomous vehicle partner Nuro began testing modified Lucid Gravity SUVs for a luxury robotaxi service launching in San Francisco later this year. Uber first partnered up with Lucid Motors and Nuro last July, when it made a $300 million investment and agreed to buy at least 20,000 Gravity SUVs. Lucid Motors revealed at an investor day event earlier this year that it was near an agreement with Uber to make a similar arrangement for its more affordable mid-size vehicles. The finalized agreement unveiled on Tuesday appears to offset some of those Gravity SUV orders. The Saudi investment is the latest in a long line of cash injections from the Kingdom into Lucid that started off as a company-saving investment in 2018. Sean O'Kane Sr. Reporter, Transportation Sean O’Kane is a reporter who has spent a decade covering the rapidly-evolving business and technology of the transportation industry, including Tesla and the many startups chasing Elon Musk. Most recently, he was a reporter at Bloomberg News where he helped break stories about some of the most notorious EV SPAC flops. He previously worked at The Verge, where he also covered consumer technology, hosted many short- and long-form videos, performed product and editorial photography, and once nearly passed out in a Red Bull Air Race plane. You can contact or verify outreach from Sean by emailing sean.okane@techcrunch.com or via encrypted message at okane.01 on Signal. April 30 San Francisco, CA StrictlyVC kicks off the year in SF. Get in the room for unfiltered fireside chats with industry leaders, insider VC insights, and high-value connections that actually move the needle. Tickets are limited. Most Popular Stanford report highlights growing disconnect between AI insiders and everyone else Sarah Perez Sam Altman responds to ‘incendiary’ New Yorker article after attack on his home Anthony Ha Anthropic temporarily banned OpenClaw’s creator from accessing Claude Julie Bort France to ditch Windows for Linux to reduce reliance on US tech Zack Whittaker YouTube Premium and YouTube Music are getting more expensive Aisha Malik This founder helped build SpaceX’s most powerful rocket engine. Now he’s building a ‘fighter jet for orbit.’ Tim Fernholz Developer of VeraCrypt encryption software says Windows users may face boot-up issues after Microsoft locked his account Zack Whittaker X LinkedIn Facebook Instagram youTube Mastodon Threads Bluesky TechCrunchStaffContact UsAdvertiseCrunchboard JobsSite Map Terms of ServicePrivacy PolicyRSS Terms of UseCode of Conduct OpenAIIranGas PricesTeslaAppleTech LayoffsChatGPT © 2026 TechCrunch Media LLC.