Lucid Motors‘ shares rebounded Friday from this week’s all-time low after interim CEO Marc Winterhoff refuted a third-party estimate that 70 units of its Gravity three-row SUV were sold in August.
The stock jumped 13.9% to close at $18.41, equivalent to $1.841 on a pre-reverse-split basis.
Lucid’s 1-for-10 reverse stock split became effective earlier in the week, with the management saying the move aims to decrease volatility and allow more institutions to invest in the company.
Additionally, Lucid said Thursday it closed a $300 million investment from Uber, finalizing funding tied to the companies’ partnership on a robotaxi program announced in mid-July.
Over the last few months, Cox Automotive reported that Lucid had sold only 5 Gravity SUVs and 2,630 Air Sedans in the US during the second quarter.
Additionally, data provider Motor Intelligence reported in early August that Lucid sold no Gravity SUVs in July and, earlier this week, forecasted fewer than 100 units were sold in the US in August.
Motor Intelligence estimated on Wednesday that Lucid sold 923 Air sedans and 70 Gravity SUVs in August, totaling 993 units.
Winterhoff rejected the data at a Thursday media briefing.
“I can assure you (third-party delivery information is) incorrect and wide of the mark,” the interim chief stated. “We’ll talk to numbers at the end of the quarter.”
His comments, first reported by WardsAuto, echoed those of head of global communications Nick Twork, who responded on Wednesday to reporting of Motor Intelligence’s figures.
“Completely false,” he wrote on X in reference to the 70 Gravity units. “This is inaccurate data.”
Lucid, like Tesla, Rivian and other EV makers, does not report monthly deliveries, releasing figures only on a quarterly basis.
The Motor Intelligence estimate also runs counter to Lucid’s recent guidance that Gravity deliveries would exceed those of the Air sedan in the second half of 2025 as production ramps up.
Drone footage captured in mid-August at Lucid’s Casa Grande, Arizona, factory showed about 1,000 Gravity SUVs staged across lots, reflecting the scale-up.
From those 1,000, it remains unclear how many were pre-produced for shipment to Lucid’s Saudi plant versus completed units for US customers.
Motor Intelligence previously estimated Lucid sold 890 Air sedans and no Gravity SUVs in July, with Winterhoff denying the figures a few days later.
At Lucid’s second-quarter earnings call in early August, Winterhoff dismissed that figure outright: “That number is false … it’s unfortunate that something like this is published.”
On its website, Motor Intelligence notes that its figures are “sales estimates” which “combine robust data with informed market insights to provide a comprehensive view of the market,” adding that they may differ from official automaker-reported numbers.
Its 2025 monthly estimates for Lucid include 665 units in January (+51% YoY), 805 in February (+33%), 942 in March (+64%), 820 in April (-13%), 975 in May (+19%), 840 in June (-14%), and 890 in July before August’s disputed 993 units.
Friday’s share rebound followed a steep slide on Thursday, when Cantor Fitzgerald cut its price target on Lucid.
The firm expects Lucid to deliver 6,064 Gravity deliveries this year, scaling to 10,248 units in 2026.
In a new research note, Cantor analyst Andres Sheppard cut the firm’s target by 33% to $20 from $30, or $3.00 before the split first announced in July.
