🪃Lucid Asks Customers to Bring it Back

Good Morning, this is your Electric Daily. The email that gives you a daily jolt of electric vehicle trends, insights, and predictions, in 5 minutes or less.

In Today's Email:

• 🪃Lucid Asks Customers to Bring it Back

• 💸VW Plans to Make it Rain with Porsche IPO

• 📈 Got $10,000? My Top 3 EV Stocks to Buy and HODL

• 🗒️ Three Nuggets

• 🌿 Elon Hanging With Ye and Ross

—Riz Nwosu

Lucid Asks Customers to Bring it Back

There are usually negative connotations associated with product recalls and rightfully so. However, I see things differently. For an automaker, engaging in your first recall is tantamount to "earning your stripes" in the automobile industry. All the big dogs (including Tesla) have had to issue a recall in the past. GM is currently in the midst of a huge recall for its Chevy Bolts.

So take it in stride Lucid, this is part of playing in the major leagues. Voluntary recalls are proof that you were not only able to deliver a product into the hands of customers, but also you were competent and honest enough to identify an issue with said product and follow through with making sure your customers are made whole.

If you were wondering how well (on not) the market took the news, at first it didn't like the news then it did. After a precipitous dip yesterday when the news of the recalls initially broke, the stock has since bounced back with a vengeance. This goes to show that investors believe in the strong fundamentals of the company and see a very bright future ahead for Lucid.

Spoiler Alert: It's one of the 3 stocks I recommend later on.

It is important to note that this recall is actually a preemptive one. Lucid is recalling 203 2022 Lucid Airs because of the possibility that the front strut dampers were assembled improperly by a supplier. Lucid is not aware of any instances of strut damper failure in a vehicle. 

Not that's a baller move. Lucid didn't wait for the worst to happen like with the Tata Nexon airbag debacle. Instead Lucid decided to get in front of the issue before it became an actual issue. If anything, this would strengthen the EV buying public's confidence in Lucid vehicles.

VW Plans to Make it Rain with Porsche IPO

Word on the street is that the VW is working on a plan to spin off the Porsche brand and give the billionaire Porsche and Piech families a minority blocking stake in the newly formed entity currently being called Project Phoenix. 25% of non-voting shares in the new entity will also be made available to investors.

The proposed IPO, estimated by Bloomberg Intelligence to be worth up to 85 billion euros ($96 billion), would partially reverse a stormy purchase of Porsche by the VW more than a decade ago, and highlight the scale of the industry change.

While details and timing are still being worked out, the IPO could take place in the second half of this year and could include a special dividend to help the Porsche and Piech families (who own 53% of VW voting shares), finance the transaction, according to snitches who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

A VW spokesperson declined to comment which is industry-speak for it's absolutely likely probably true. Following the statement on Tuesday about a prospective IPO framework, the company's stock popped by almost 10%.

Spoiler Alert: It's not one of the 3 stocks I recommend later on.

Got $10,000? My Top 3 EV Stocks to Buy and HODL

Rivian

Rivian currently has a solid number of pre-orders for its pickup vehicle and SUV. Amazon, which now has an 18.1% stake in Rivian, has placed an initial order for 100,000 electric delivery vehicles. Another 12% of the firm is owned by Ford.

Rivian confronts various risks as a fledgling EV manufacturer in a highly competitive industry. To begin, it must overcome the challenges of large-scale production. Automobile production is a capital-intensive endeavor that needs a strong supply network. By successfully delivering its first pickup trucks, the startup has derisked its standing in my opinion.

However, it remains to be seen how Rivian vehicles will function over time and how well they are received by the broader customer base. Also its hard not to notice that the stock is down 36% over the past year. But I will argue that the stock is now in correction territory and thus at a discount, making it rightly priced for future growth.

Lucid Group

Lucid made news when it launched its first car, the Lucid Air, which has a range greater than the Tesla's Model S PLAID. The Air was highly received by early buyers as well as media publications such as MotorTrend, who named it Car of the Year.

However, Lucid's early success does not guarantee its long-term success. The startup has yet to manufacture automobiles at scale and at a profit. Nonetheless, it appears to be functioning well thus far with Peter Rawlinson at the helm. Lucid has succeeded in creating a demand for its product and is now concentrating on increasing production.

Lucid Group is also funded by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, which owns 63% of the EV startup. It is already working on its next model, an SUV named Gravity, and plans to provide lower-priced variants in the future just like Tesla is doing. As a result, it has a well-planned expansion strategy. But plans are just plans until executed.

Because the startup is still in its early stages, the stock has been and will remain volatile in the short term. However, if you can stomach so much red in your portfolio and look at the stock over a longer time horizon, it might be worth examining. When Lucid releases fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 28, investors will learn more about the company's success and goals.

ChargePoint

ChargePoint is one of the world's largest EV charging companies. It has 163,000 charging ports worldwide, 45,000 of which are in Europe. The company's sales has been steadily increasing, yet it is still losing money and may continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Currently, hardware sales account for more than 70% of the company's income and the company anticipates that its operational expenditures, which include research and development as well as sales and marketing, will increase slower than its revenue over time, allowing it to achieve profitability.

This could help the stock price, which has witnessed a considerable dip in recent months. Notably, there are a number of strong competitors in the market, like EVgo and Electrify America, so things may not go as planned for ChargePoint.

ChargePoint is scheduled to announce its fourth-quarter earnings on March 2 and hopefully investors will learn more about the company's development.

5 Nuggets

• EV coach drives from California to Seattle and back using public chargers - [Read more here]

• Breaking Down the Cost of an EV Battery Cell - [Read more here]

• Mercedes foresees EV-only production lines within a few years - [Read more here]

• EV ads dominated the Super Bowl, but don't expect to buy one anytime soon - [Read more here]

• Who wants Biden's EV-charging money? Everybody - [Read more here]

Consider yourself 80% charged. Why 80%? Well, according to legend, charging your battery to 100% repeatedly will damage it faster than you can say...[Insert clever saying here]. See ya tomorrow!

Oh...Elon hanging with Kanye and Rick Ross

Elon was filmed backstage at the DONDA 2 event with Kanye, Rick Ross, P.Diddy, and French Montana. I'm pretty sure at least one person is high in this photo 🌿.

What'd you think about today's email?

• ⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡ Fully charged

• ⚡⚡ Meh - was ok

• ⚡ Not even close

Written by Riz Nwosu

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