In an 8-K filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Lucid Group Inc. noted that its board had approved a $6 million cash bonus to CEO Peter Rawlinson. The bonus incited some raised eyebrows among EV enthusiasts, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who criticized the Lucid CEO’s bonus.
Lucid explained the rationale behind Rawlinson’s $6 million cash bonus. As per the filing, the bonus is to recognize the CEO’s contributions to the unveiling of the Lucid Gravity, the company’s upcoming all-electric luxury SUV. The Gravity was unveiled back in November at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The EV maker noted in its filing that the Gravity’s unveiling “marked a major technical, commercial, and design milestone for the company.”
“On February 9, 2024, the Compensation and Human Capital Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company recommended and the Board approved payment of a cash bonus to the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer, Peter Rawlinson, in the amount of $6,000,000, in recognition of his significant contributions to this milestone achievement,” Lucid noted in its 8-K filing.
In response to an electric vehicle advocate who joked that he would purchase 10 shares of LCID so he could sue the company for overpaying its CEO — a reference to a TSLA shareholder with nine shares who sued Tesla and got Elon Musk’s 2018 pay package rescinded by a Delaware judge — Musk noted that Rawlinson’s compensation is “inversely proportionate to performance.”
Musk’s sentiments may be reasonable considering that Rawlinson is very well paid compared to other auto CEOs. Musk, even before his 2018 pay package was rescinded, adopted a high-risk, high-reward plan that involved him only getting paid if Tesla reached specific milestones. As noted in a Benzinga report, GM CEO Mary Barra had a total compensation of $34 million in 2022, and Ford CEO Jim Farley had a total compensation of $18 million. Rawlinson’s total compensation in 2022 reached $379 million.
Read Lucid’s 8-K filing below.
0001104659-24-024581 by Simon Alvarez on Scribd
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