Lucid is offering an $18,000 employee discount to help employees buy a pricey Air

Lucid began offering all full-time regular US employees a “stipend” to buy the 2022 Grand Touring.
Lucid Motors

EV startup Lucid Motors just launched an employee purchase program.
Employees who buy the $154,000 Air Grand Touring get a sizable discount, paid out over time.
Lucid saw reservations drop from 37,000 in Q2 to 34,000 in Q3, due in part to cancellations.

Lucid Motors is offering workers an $18,000 discount to buy an Air by the end of the year, the electric vehicle startup confirmed to Insider. 

This week, Lucid began offering all full-time regular U.S. employees a “stipend” to buy the Lucid Air Grand Touring, according to an internal e-mail viewed by Insider. The Grand Touring is the current range-topping model now that the Dream Edition has sold out, though the more powerful Air Sapphire will soon retake the crown. The Grand Touring starts at at $154,000.

Employees who purchase a Grand Touring and take delivery by Dec. 31 will receive $500 each pay period (which covers two weeks) until the payments total $18,000, provided they continue to work at Lucid. The company also said availability and configurations are limited.

“We have always wanted to find the right time to help reward our employees who were interested in driving a Lucid Air every day,” Lucid spokesperson Nat Lingo told Insider. “With our recent ramp up, we have been able to honor this request from our team.”

The program could help Lucid juice delivery numbers before year-end, as it ramps up production of its flagship Air sedan. As of the third quarter, Lucid had produced a total of 3,687 vehicles this year, and is targeting building between 6,000 and 7,000 vehicles in 2022. It has not yet given 2023 guidance. 

Meanwhile, Lucid saw reservations drop from 37,000 in Q2 to 34,000 in Q3, which CFO Sherry House attributed to a mix of deliveries made and customer cancellations. 

Even with reservations declining, the company has thousands of reservations to fulfill — including an order for up to 100,000 vehicles from Saudi Arabia’s government. 

A former employee told Insider that despite employee interest, this type of program was not offered earlier due to the company’s order volume.

Unconfirmed reports have said startup Rivian has also introduced an employee purchase program.

Are you a current or former Lucid employee? Do you own a Lucid vehicle? Do you have a news tip or opinion you’d like to share? Contact this reporter from a non-work device and account at astjohn@insider.com or on Signal at 313-570-6709.