Lucid Motors executive Emad Dlala departs amid leadership shake-up

Emad Dlala, one of the company’s longest-serving employees and executives, has left Lucid Motors, marking the first major executive departure since Silvio Napoli became CEO. Napoli was named CEO in April and formally took over the role last week. Dlala, who had been with the company for over a decade, previously served as vice president and senior vice president overseeing the powertrain team—the engineering team responsible for vehicle propulsion systems. In November, he was elevated to a role overseeing all of engineering and digital, at the same time that Lucid Motors parted ways with former chief engineer Eric Bach.

In a statement, the company Lucid Motors confirmed the departure: “Emad Dlala has elected to leave the company to pursue other opportunities. We thank Emad for his many contributions over the years and wish him continued success in his future endeavors. Lucid remains focused on streamlining our organization and processes to fully leverage the strength of our team and will communicate further actions soon” Dlala declined to comment on his departure.

The company stated that it is transforming its organization to accelerate innovation and strengthen execution under Napoli. As part of this restructuring, the company has adjusted its reporting lines:

• Vivek Attaluri, vice president of vehicle engineering, will report directly to Silvio Napoli.
• Marc Solsona Palomar, vice president of software, will report directly to Silvio Napoli.

These changes follow a period of organizational turbulence for the automaker. In February, Lucid Motors laid off 12% of its workforce. Additionally, former chief engineer Eric Bach, who parted ways with the company in November, has sued Lucid Motors for wrongful termination. The company also spent a year searching for a new CEO following the departure of former CEO Peter Rawlinson in early 2025.

The leadership transition comes as Lucid Motors prepares for the launch of its mass-market Cosmos EV, which is expected to be priced below $50,000. This vehicle is also part of Lucid’s plans to develop robotaxis—autonomous taxi services—with autonomous vehicle partner Nuro and robotaxi partner Uber. As part of these efforts, the Gravity SUV is supposed to hit the road in San Francisco by the end of this year.

Why it matters

The departure of Emad Dlala marks the first major executive exit under new CEO Silvio Napoli, as the company attempts to restructure and prepare for the launch of its mass-market Cosmos EV. This transition will test whether the automaker can successfully streamline its operations to deliver more affordable electric vehicles.