Peter Rawlinson, former Tesla engineer and current Lucid Chief Executive, believes the Musk-led company is no longer as focused as it used to be during the Tesla Model S development.
Ex-Tesla engineer says Tesla needs to refocus
Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson said during the BBC’s Wake Up To Money episode on Monday that the recent happenings or changes in Tesla are making a dent in the company.
The Lucid boss cited his experience while working at Tesla, saying that it “was truly at the cutting edge developing the most advanced technology with a clarity of vision and purpose and an absolute singularity of mindset.”
However, CEO Rawlinson observed that the Musk-led company lost that strong focus due to certain distractions. Tesla recently announced a 10% reduction to its global workforce and a delay in the launch of the highly awaited low-cost Tesla car.
“What I’m seeing now is I’m seeing a worrying trend towards distraction. Tesla seems to be distracted.”
Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson
Capitalizing on perceived Tesla missteps with a focus on tech
Tesla has been a pioneer in electric vehicle technology for more than ten years. It substantially contributed to the rapid shift to clean energy mobility from internal combustion engine-powered cars.
However, legacy automakers are starting to catch up while Tesla undergoes several internal changes. These changes seem to be impeding the electric vehicle giant’s continuous growth, as observed by the entire industry.
Now, Lucid sees an opportunity to gain ground on Tesla as it believes the American EV leader is making some stumbles. Lucid intends to do so by emphasising its own advanced tech and making it a central selling point for their EVs.
Lucid is currently preparing to kick off the production of its second offering, the Gravity three-row SUV. It will then develop a more affordable midsize model to fill the spot below the Air in the brand’s EV portfolio.
Comments spark debate about Tesla’s future strategy
Lucid CEO Rawlinson’s criticism of Tesla has sparked a discussion about the direction the latter is taking.
Apart from Lucid, former Tesla board member Steve Westly also thinks that Tesla CEO Elon Musk lost its focus on automotive manufacturing. He noted (via CNBC) that “for any CEO of any of the top companies in the world, you need to be laser-focused on what you’re doing. And it appears now that Mr. Musk’s focus is in too many areas.”
Several reports suggest that Tesla may be focusing on other areas like self-driving technology before core vehicle development. Considering the emergence of new EV startups and legacy automakers’ electrification, it would be interesting to see who will dominate the market in the future.
