Shares of Electric vehicle (EV) Manufacturer Lucid Group (LCID -9.09%) traded lower on Monday as Wall Street awaited new economic data following last week’s sell-off. As of 11:00 a.m. ET, Lucid shares were down about 4.7% from Friday’s close.

Last week’s solid gains didn’t help Lucid’s stock

Lucid’s stock has been fluctuating since the company announced its earnings on August 5, immediately after the abrupt market sell-off.

The timing was bad for Lucid because the company had good news to announce: sales were better than Wall Street expected, the company’s inventory is declining nicely, and Lucid’s majority shareholder, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), agreed to provide an additional $1.5 billion in financing.

That extra cash should be enough to extend the company’s runway until the end of 2025. By then, Lucid should be able to launch its next model – a large electric luxury SUV called Gravity – and make significant progress on the mid-size model it plans to launch in a few years.

Lucid expects to begin production of its Gravity SUV by the end of this year. Image source: Lucid Group.

A recession – or more inflation – could thwart Lucid’s plans

Both efforts depend on finding enough buyers for Lucid’s high-end electric cars. Any economic factor that discourages consumers and businesses from buying new vehicles – inflation, higher interest rates, an economic slowdown – could become a major problem for the loss-making automaker.

Given Lucid’s still low liquidity and the Fears of recession With expectations sparked by economic data earlier this month, it’s not hard to understand why investors and traders might be nervous about holding the stock while we wait for a new round of economic data later in the week.