Tesla's Pain, Lucid's Gain: Orders Surge For Saudi-Backed EV Maker Amid Elon Musk's Branding Woes, Retail Confidence Climbs

Lucid Group Inc.’s shares ended Monday 4.3% higher, recording their best session in over two weeks, as retail sentiment improved following the EV maker’s disclosure that it was capitalizing on a larger rival’s recent setbacks.

Interim CEO Marc Winterhoff told Fox Business on Friday that the company has seen a "dramatic uptick over the past two months" in orders from former Tesla drivers.

"More than 75% right now of our Gravity [SUV] orders are from people that have not been with Lucid before," he said. "So that's actually very encouraging for us."

"Right now, 50% of all the orders we have are from former Tesla owners," he added after saying that such customers have always been a source for Lucid in the past.

Winterhoff also said Lucid is vertically integrating production in Arizona, including the motor, battery modules, and packs, and is working with suppliers to bring cell production stateside.

The interim CEO admitted that President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on imported vehicles would be challenging.

On Stocktwits, sentiment for Lucid improved to ‘neutral’ from ‘bullish’ on Monday amid a 325% jump in message volume.

"Tesla owners are switching to buying Lucid cars because of Musk politics. Now we need Tesla stockholders to be smart and sell their shares and buy Lucid shares instead to profit from this new trend," said one user.

"There’s no way we don’t at least touch $3 by the end of the week! This one is a sleeping giant," said another.

Tesla’s stock has been under pressure this year due to CEO Elon Musk’s outsized role in the Trump administration and his controversial politics.

The backlash has contributed to slumping sales in key markets, along with widespread protests at Tesla stores and incidents of vandalism on its vehicles, which Musk has condemned as terrorism.

Back in January, Swedish EV maker Polestar’s CEO was among the first auto executives to suggest that Musk’s politics was alienating core Tesla customers and presented an opportunity for rivals to capture market share.

Lucid, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, has set its sights on more than doubling 2025 deliveries following Peter Rawlinson’s abrupt decision to step down as CEO in February.

Lucid’s stock is down more than 20% this year, while Tesla has lost over 33%.

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