What’s the worst investment idea for 2024? Buy Lucid stock.

After all, investing in electric car manufacturers lucid group (NASDAQ:LCID) was not a good idea in 2023. Will next year be even better? Recent news doesn’t bode well for Lucid Group, so don’t expect a quick recovery for LCID stock.

It’s not hard to see why some investors have given up on Lucid stock altogether. First, Stifel analyst Stephen Gengaro says Lucid Group is “two to four years away” from significantly increasing production.

In addition, Needham analyst Chris Pearce lowered his rating on LCID stock from “buy” to “hold,” citing weak demand for Lucid Group’s vehicles. Additionally, these aren’t the only red flags Lucid investors need to address. The road ahead is very likely to be tough for Lucid Group and its shareholders as we head into the new year.

Luxury cars alone won’t save you LCID stock.

Don’t get me wrong here. I don’t dislike Lucid Group as a company and am happy to acknowledge the quality of Lucid’s EVs. cannot deny the importance of car and driver We selected Lucid Air Pure as part of our 2024 Best 10 list.

But luxury cars weren’t enough to save Lucid stock in 2023. Looking to the future, there’s no guarantee that Lucid Group’s cars will be top sellers next year. Keep in mind that the Lucid Air Pure RWD has a starting price of $77,400. This means that the customer’s actual purchase price will almost certainly be higher.

In other words, Lucid Group’s EVs are powerful and luxurious, but they’re also out of reach for many Americans. Another bad sign is that Lucid lowered its 2023 car production forecast from 8,000 to 8,500 units. Previously, the automaker had announced production of “more than 10,000 units.”

The company needs to provide more promising forecasts for EV production in 2024. We hope Lucid Group doesn’t revise its forecasts downward later.

Things keep getting worse for Lucid Group

Despite what hasn’t been a very good year for Lucid stock, things got even worse for Lucid Group in the last few months of 2023. First, Sherry House has resigned as Lucid Group’s chief financial officer (CFO) after serving for more than two years.

As soon as the market got wind of the House resignation, LCID stock fell 9%. But that wasn’t the only potential sign of trouble. Lucid Group’s shareholders also discovered in December that the company had been exempted from regulation. Nasdaq 100 index. This is a well-known stock index, so it’s understandable that Lucid investors would be concerned about this development.

Finally, there is some news that seems positive at first glance, but when you think about it, it doesn’t make much of an impression. As you may recall, Lucid Group announced that he will open his EV production facility in Saudi Arabia in September.

Fast forward to December, and Lucid Group boasted that it had “assembled almost 800 cars at its Saudi Arabian factory since opening.” It’s a start, but Lucid shouldn’t brag until his EV production numbers at the Saudi factory reach several thousand units.

Investors may also wonder whether Lucid uses cost-effective processes to manufacture its vehicles. According to Faisal Sultan, global vice president of Lucid Group, “The car will be fully assembled in Arizona, then disassembled and shipped here.” [in Saudi Arabis] Assemble it as a kit and put the kit back together. ” This is a complicated method for manufacturing EVs, and could hinder Lucid’s ability to make a profit on these vehicles.

With Lucid Stock, you don’t have to change your path

Lucid stock got off to a strong start in 2023, but fell into a ditch by December. Even if Lucid Group stock appears cheap, prospective investors should consider a growing number of warning signs.

Losing top management and being removed from the Nasdaq 100 index are signs that Lucid Group could be headed down a troubled path. Time will tell whether Lucid shareholders will suffer losses next year, but the outlook doesn’t look good. So while it’s not unreasonable to consider buying LCID stock, this is probably the worst investment idea of ​​2024.

Publication date, David Mordell did not have any positions (directly or indirectly) in any securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer and are influenced by InvestorPlace.com. Publishing guidelines.