Lucid’s deal with Uber is promising. But a Rivian partnership looks superior.
Lucid Group (LCID -2.17%) soared in value following the announcement of its partnership with Uber Technologies. According to the deal’s terms, Uber will invest $300 million in the electric vehicle (EV) maker. Uber also committed to purchase 20,000 vehicles from Lucid to kick-start its robotaxi division.
Wall Street veteran Jim Cramer recently weighted in on the deal, and his take was surprising to many. He compared Lucid’s deal with Uber to a partnership Rivian Automotive (RIVN 1.30%), another EV stock, made earlier this year.
If you’re invested in either Lucid or Rivian, you’ll want to give Cramer’s comments some consideration.
How big is the Uber and Lucid partnership in reality?
The details of Lucid’s partnership with Uber are fairly straightforward. The latter says it is expecting to launch a robotaxi service later next year in a major U.S. city.
To power this launch, Uber plans to order 20,000 Lucid Gravity SUVs over the next six years. According to a press release, the vehicles will be owned and operated by Uber or its third-party fleet partners and made available to riders exclusively via the Uber platform.
To help Lucid scale up enough to produce this many vehicles, Uber also agreed to invest $300 million into the business. Around the same time, Lucid announced a 1-for-10 reverse stock split, but it’s not clear how connected these two events are.
While all of this looks promising on paper, there are two obvious problems. First, Uber’s robotaxi division remains in its infancy. Whether it can actually grow big enough to acquire 20,000 Lucid vehicles remains a huge open question.
Second, $300 million won’t do much to keep Lucid financially viable over the next six years. While it ended 2024 with more than $6 billion in liquidity, the company also posted a net loss of $2.7 billion, roughly the same net loss it posted in 2023. A $300 million cash infusion is helpful, but it will hardly cure its ongoing financial challenges.
Lucid aims to provide the vehicles for Uber’s new service. Image source: Getty Images.
Jim Cramer thinks Rivian’s deal with Volkswagen is superior
When Jim Cramer was asked about Lucid’s partnership with Uber last week, he called the deal a “dalliance.” In other words, he views it more as a short-term arrangement than a bona fide long-term partnership. “I think that you need a commitment, like the Volkswagen commitment to Rivian is extraordinary,” Cramer said. “That’s an open-ended check from one of the biggest car companies.”
He is referring to a joint venture between Volkswagen and Rivian that was announced in November 2024. The German automaker will receive crucial access to Rivian’s software operating platform and technological back end. In exchange, Rivian receives up to $5.8 billion in funding.
It’s not hard to see the difference in commitments here. Uber is investing just $300 million into Lucid, with the promise of buying vehicles over the next six years. Rivian, meanwhile, is receiving up to $5.8 billion in funding by the end of 2027, starting with an immediate $1 billion convertible note.
To be clear, Lucid’s deal with Uber is still very exciting. ARK Investment CEO Cathie Wood eventually sees the robotaxi market being worth up to $10 trillion by 2030. But Rivian’s deal with Volkswagen gives more credence to Rivian’s tech stack and differentiation.
If you’re excited about the Uber-Lucid tie-up, be sure to dive into Rivian’s and Volkswagen’s partnership, as Cramer correctly points out.
Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool recommends Volkswagen Ag. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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