Former Lucid Motors chief engineer Eric Bach has filed a federal lawsuit accusing the electric vehicle maker of wrongful termination, discrimination, and retaliation, alleging that a senior human resources executive made a derogatory remark about his German heritage during an internal workplace investigation.
Lawsuit Filing and Core Allegations
The lawsuit was filed on Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Bach alleges that he was targeted during an internal investigation into workplace culture that began in late 2024 and that his treatment was influenced by discriminatory beliefs held within the company’s human resources leadership.
According to the complaint, Bach was stripped of his responsibilities overseeing the powertrain division in early 2025. He claims the actions were taken as a result of the investigation and were motivated by bias related to his German heritage.
The complaint states that Bach learned in mid-2025 that a senior HR executive had referred to him as a “German Nazi.” He then encouraged a co-worker to report the incident. Bach alleges that Lucid Motors later confirmed internally that the executive made the remark. He also filed a separate internal complaint against another Lucid vice president for what he described as similar racist conduct.
Termination and Alleged Retaliation
Bach claims that the company retaliated against him after he raised concerns about the alleged remarks. According to the lawsuit, Lucid attempted to force his resignation in October 2025. He was formally terminated on Nov 5, 2025.
Lucid Motors issued a press release on that day stating only that Bach had “departed” the company. The lawsuit alleges that this characterization did not reflect the circumstances of his dismissal.
Claims of Prior Standing Within the Company
In the complaint, Bach states that he had been in a strong leadership position before the workplace investigation began. He says he spent a decade at Lucid and oversaw “all hardware engineering,” “product management,” and “corporate planning.”
Bach also alleges that Lucid chairman Turqi Alnowaiser had praised his loyalty and expressed a desire to continue working with him. He further claims that board member Andrew Liveris indicated that Bach was positioned to become chief technology officer and that he could ultimately be considered for the role of chief executive officer.
The investigation, which Bach alleges was tainted by discriminatory views within HR, initially resulted in him losing significant responsibilities, according to the complaint. In addition to losing oversight of the powertrain team, Bach claims he was also excluded from board meetings and told by HR that he contributed to a poor workplace culture.
Broader Executive Turnover at Lucid
The lawsuit comes as Lucid Motors continues to experience a wave of executive departures while working to scale production of its second vehicle, the Gravity SUV. The company is also developing lower-cost mass-market vehicles on a midsized platform scheduled for launch in late 2026.
Lucid’s vice president of engineering left the company on the same day Bach says he was fired. Former chief executive and chief technology officer Peter Rawlinson resigned in February, and the company has yet to name a permanent successor. Other departures over the past year include the head of investor relations, the senior vice president of operations, the managing director for Europe, and the vice presidents of software quality and marketing.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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